PRIDE

Introduction

The Parents’ Resource Institute for Drug Education, Inc. (PRIDE) is a federally licensed 501 (C)(3) non-profit, tax exempt organization that was chartered in July, 1984, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. PRIDE is managed by a volunteer Board of Directors representing a cross-section of business, civic and public service organizations in the community.

In 1988, PRIDE was chosen by the U.S. Department of Education to serve as one of eight model drug prevention programs across the country. Still in operation, this model program includes school, parent, youth, and community activities encompassing a “multiple-strategies” approach to drug prevention and education. The growth of collaboration, participation, and linkages with other resources in the Tuscaloosa community has enhanced PRIDE’s drug prevention programs and expanded its efforts to include violence prevention.Agency’s Purpose

The purpose of the PRIDE organization is to prevent alcohol and other drug abuse through awareness, education, and training with the major emphasis being the parents of the community and their children. Over the past few years, PRIDE has expanded the scope of its programming to include violence prevention.

PRIDE has actively supported and promoted drug abuse prevention in the schools and community since its inception and is considered a leader, a valuable partner, and an expert resource in the Tuscaloosa City School system’s drug prevention program. Over the years, PRIDE has functioned as a catalyst in coordinating prevention efforts on a community-wide basis, as an innovator of effective approaches to drug prevention programming and assessment, and as a consultant to state and national drug education organizations.

Having begun seventeen years ago, primarily as a resource for parents, PRIDE has since expanded its mission to include other constituencies which serve the needs of the community: schools, medical and health care services, law enforcement, civic groups, business and industry, the media, and local, state, and national governments. Even today, with the ever-widening demand for education and prevention programs that encompasses violence, conflict management, and related topics, PRIDE has seen its programming expand to include such issues. PRIDE, however, has never abandoned its initial focus on young people and their parents and the belief that family institutions need help in preventing and/or solving the problems that result from the risk factors in their environments. PRIDE promotes the acquisition of skills as well as knowledge if youth and parents are to effectively reduce and eventually eliminate the enormous threats of the drug culture, rates of crime and violence, and of the deterioration of the family unit.

Fourteen years ago, PRIDE refined its programs and services to create a more comprehensive approach to drug prevention. This approach extended PRIDE’s efforts beyond merely serving as a reservoir for printed materials and a speaker’s bureau. Prevention strategies that focused on and actively involved families, neighborhoods, schools, the faith community, businesses, and the media were researched, piloted, and integrated into PRIDE’s overall programming.

Currently, composed of a variety of drug prevention and intervention activities, this broad-based approach provides a multi-faceted system which has as its goal combating the abuse of drugs and the devastating effects of violence.

Significant Accomplishments

1. Media - PRIDE was involved:

• in articles and ads in The Tuscaloosa News.
• in television interviews and news reports highlighting the agency’s purpose as well as drug-related topics. The estimated viewing audience numbered 12,000-20,000 households per broadcast.
• in public service announcements, Talent Search advertisements, and talk show interviews.
• In a year-long media campaign featuring Tuscaloosa’s PRIDE Youth Team. Contracts with MTV, BET, and local stations facilitated outreach to the targeted teen population of Tuscaloosa and surrounding areas.

2. Training /Staff Development - PRIDE coordinated and/or provided drug/violence prevention training for:
   • the PRIDE Youth Team (Attendance at the National PRIDE Conference in Kentucky and a summer training retreat hosted by Bradford Health Services at Bradford Adolescent Treatment Facility in Pelham.)
   • the faculties, Central Office, and other staff members of the Tuscaloosa City Schools (Attendance at the Alabama School of Alcohol and Drug Studies as well as various drug prevention conferences and faculty/staff inservice programs.)
   • the City School System’s D.A.R.E. officers (Attendance at state D.A.R.E. trainings in addition to other relevant training/education opportunities.)
     
     
3. Talent Search - PRIDE’s annual fundraiser again provided a showcase of talent and raised approximately $6,000 to be used toward community prevention efforts. This year’s Talent Search was performed at the Bama Theatre to a capacity crowd of over 850. Talent Search preliminary auditions attracted over 120 acts.
   
   
4. Straight Talk Newsletter - Published twice yearly, this newsletter focuses attention on school and community prevention activities as well as drug-related issues and concerns. The mailing list includes 3,500 residents of the Tuscaloosa area. Newsletters are also distributed to all employees of the City and County School systems. The County System prints the newsletter as an in-kind service for PRIDE.
   
   
5. Red Ribbon Week - This annual observance promotes healthy, drug-free lifestyles through special events that are coordinated and/or presented by PRIDE in the schools and throughout the community. Red Ribbon Week activities reached a total of 26,000 students and staff members in area schools as well as thousands in the community. Pride provided a total of $500 in grants to schools that expressed an interest in enhancing their Red Ribbon Week campaigns. The “Hands Across the Bridge” and “Red Ribbon Week Revue” were two highlights of Red Ribbon Week. The “Bridge” activity attracted 150 high school students and local dignitaries. The “Revue” at the Bama Theatre drew 650 children from area elementary schools.
   
   
6. Grants – A collaborative effort with Globe Elastic Manufacturing Company resulted in grants totaling over $2,700 awarded to area schools for the purpose of developing or expanding drug prevention programming. Alberta and Walker Elementary Schools were 1999 recipients of this grant.
   
   
7. Community Networking - Because no agency or individual can operate in a vacuum, especially where drug prevention is concerned, PRIDE has made linkages with other school and community drug programs a priority. By establishing a strong networking system, PRIDE has found itself better able to deliver services to meet the needs of area residents. Through this system of operation, gaps in service delivery are eliminated and the duplication of programs and services can be avoided. Partnering with other agencies/organizations fosters the sharing of ideas and encourages service specialization rather than generalization.
   
   
8. Longevity - PRIDE has served the Tuscaloosa community for seventeen years.
   
   
9. PRIDE’s Major Program Components
   • Parent Training/Education - skill-building and drug education for parents and caregivers that focus on the adult’s role in drug prevention.
   • Positive Peer Leadership - education and training for youth that emphasize the development of skills, the fostering of academic improvement and school attendance, and the strengthening of self-esteem. Experimental learning, community service, and performing arts are emphasized.
   • Community/School Programs - a resource for the coordination and implementation of awareness and education programs and activities in the area of substance abuse prevention.
   • Assessment - the administration of surveys designed to determine the nature and extent of youthful drug use in the schools and the community.
   • Resource Center - a reservoir of printed materials, data and audio-visual aids related to drugs and drug-related problems.
   • Reference Source - a vehicle for directing adults and youth who seek assistance to the appropriate treatment/counseling programs that are available in the Tuscaloosa area. Local sources of assistance are housed in a directory at the PRIDE office.
   • Youth Alternative Programs - youth development workshops designed to strengthen resiliency factors while teaching appropriate techniques for dealing with risk factors in the environment.
   • Family Intervention – a skills-development program for adolescents and their parents. Program components, referred to as Parent To Parent and Youth To Youth, are implemented under the auspices of PRIDE in cooperation with the Tuscaloosa County Juvenile Court, the Tuscaloosa City Schools, and the Department of Human Resources.
   • High-Risk Youth - ATOD Education - ATOD (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug) education group sessions for students assigned to an alternative school setting or identified to be in need of intensive prevention activities.
   • PRIDE Youth Team, Club PRIDE, and PRIDE Pals – Positive peer leadership programs for elementary, middle, and secondary students.
     
     
10. Certified/Professional Specialists and Facilitators – Each of PRIDE’s prevention programs is conducted by education professionals and/or personnel certified by the Alabama Department of Mental Health/Mental Retardation or the Alabama Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association.
    
    
11. Grant-Funded Initiatives – PRIDE received $86,000 in grant funds during 1999-00, not inclusive of the $119,000 that was received by the Tuscaloosa City School System, through SDFSC/Title IV grants. PRIDE’s Executive Director applied for these funds.

For further information, about PRIDE, contact June Springer at 205-759-3680 or email jspringe@tusc.k12.al.us