wfn.org | NCC, Other Faith Communities, Drug Czar Join Against Teen Drug

["Nat'l Council of Churches" <nccc_usa@ncccusa.org>]

National Council of Churches U.S.A.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NCC Joins Other Faith Communities, Drug Czar, White House to Prevent Teen
Drug Use

Washington, D.C., June 10, 2003-As a Sunday School teacher for youth, Brenda
Girton-Mitchell was often asked questions about drugs and alcohol by her
students.  Many times, she was not quite certain how she should respond,
said Girton-Mitchell - now Associate General Secretary for Public Policy of
the National Council of Churches U.S.A.

I often prayed for the right words to say and looked to Scriptures,
especially because I did not know what my students parents were saying to
them, she said at a news conference today, sponsored by the National Youth
Anti-Drug Media Campaign.

New resources called Pathways to Prevention: Guiding Youth to Wise
Decisions, specifically designed to help faith leaders talk candidly to
youth about the dangers of substance abuse, were released today to help
others facing similar situations to those of Girton-Mitchell.

The multi-faith resources were developed by the Office of National Drug
Control Policy in partnership with faith communities and the White House
Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives to encourage all religious
communities to focus on youth drug prevention, said the press statement.

The Rev. Cynthia Abrams, Program Director of Alcohol and Other Addictions
from the United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society;
Barbara Anderson from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Dr. Sayyid
Muhammed Syeed of the Islamic Society of North America, and Rabbi Eric
Lankin of the United Jewish Communities, among other faith leaders, also
participated in the press conference and will join in efforts to make the
program guide available to those in the faith community.

Faith plays an important role when it comes to teen marijuana prevention,
said John P. Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy. We are
urging youth ministers, volunteers and faith leaders to integrate drug
prevention messages and activities into their sermons and youth programming
and are providing them with key tools and resources to make a difference.

Walters also emphasized the powerful role faith plays in preventing teen
substance use. Many people go to members of the faith community when they
are in trouble, said Walters at the press conference, which was held at the
National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Looking the other way is deadly.
The best thing is to have more of them (teens) not start or be exposed to
dangerous and addictive substances than to try to get them off.

The reality is a lot of people dont know how to talk about these issues,
said Jim Towey, the Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and
Community Initiatives. According to data from Monitoring the Future, 90
percent of teens in the U.S. are affiliated with a religious denomination
and 43 percent of eighth graders attend religious services weekly. Churches,
temples and mosques are well positioned to cultivate anti-drug values and
teach effective coping tools to deal with negative peer pressure, said
Towey.

The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign began this bipartisan effort in
1998 with the objective of educating and enabling young people to reject
illicit drugs. Approximately a year of research was conducted prior to
public launch of the Media Campaign. A group of behavioral change experts
designed a research-based communications strategy to be used as a foundation
for the Campaign. This Behavioral Change Expert Panel (BCEP) continues to
provide guidance on issues related to the Campaign.

The new multi-dimensional resources include the 100-page Pathways to
Prevention drug prevention activity guide for youth faith leaders, the
www.TheAntiDrug.com/Faith website, and an email newsletter.

The activity guide was tested at Muslim, Christian and Jewish faith
institutions in Washington, D.C., Tennessee and Minnesota. It provides
guidance on a range of issues from how to incorporate drug prevention into
sermons, to how to integrate ready to use teen drug prevention activities
into youth ministries and religious education classes. There is also an
existing brochure entitled Four Ways to Include Drug Prevention in Your
Religious Programs that churches, mosques and synagogues can use.

To learn more about what is available, log on to www.TheAntiDrug.com/Faith
for faith communities and www.TheAntiDrug.com for parents. In addition free
copies of the activity guide and brochure can be ordered through
www.TheAntiDrug,com/Faith or by calling the National Clearinghouse for
Alcohol and Drug Information at 1-800-788-2800. Reference inventory numbers:
PHD903 (activity guide) and PHD904 (brochure). The materials can also be
downloaded from the website.

-end-

NCC Media Contact: Leslie Tune, 202-297-2191; ltune@ncccusa.org