The Reality Tour brings drug prevention message back to Elk County
ST. MARYS - The Reality Tour, a parent/child drug prevention program, will once again bring its eye-opening message to Elk County next month.
This year’s Reality Tour, which is a national project of CANDLE, Inc., a nonprofit organization, will be held for the sixth year in Elk County on Wednesday, March 20 and Thursday, March 21 at St. Marys Area Middle School beginning at 6 p.m.
Sixth graders from both St. Marys Area and Ridgway Area Schools are invited through school guidance offices each year to attend the event. Parents or guardians are asked to attend with their children.
Families were taken through the school to tour several dramatic scenarios of drug addiction from the beginning of addiction, to serving jail time to overdosing and death.
Patty Greene, who has coordinated the event in Elk County since it began, said the stark scenarios presented during the event always makes an impress on students and parents who attend.
“The whole idea of The Reality Tour is for them to think about what would happen if they start using drugs. Everything can change if you make a wrong decision. It’s not really to scare the kids straight, it’s to let them understand what can happen,” Greene said. “They could die, for sure. They could kill somebody or end up in jail the rest of their lives. And what it does to the families. We pay for it the rest of our lives.”
Greene, who’s son passed away from drug overdose in May 2014, said she had been trying to make people more aware of the drug problem in the area before her son passed away.
Having a problem for 22 years, Greene's son left a letter before he passed away saying if he succumbed to his addiction, he would want his addiction struggles to be used to help others.
“That's what I've done since he died. I've done my best to bring awareness to the drug addiction problem and to use him as an example that this is what can happen,” she said.
Greene added that The Reality Tour is often very effective in encouraging young people not to ever become involved with drugs at any time during their lives.
“I've talked to kids that have been to The Reality Tour years ago and I've talked to their parents. Their parents say it made such an impression on them that they've never done drugs,” Greene said.
After the tour, parents and students are brought back for a question and answer session with Elk County law enforcement officials for a frank talk on the complicated legalities of being arrested for drugs.
There is no cost to attend the event. Costs are covered through donations and grants.
Reservation forms have been sent out to all sixth grade students in both St. Marys and Ridgway through the guidance departments of these school. Parents have been asked to return their reservation forms by Wednesday, March 6.
For more information on The Reality Tour, visit candleinc.org.