I am from a rural Louisiana town and we a program called DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education). I don’t remember much about it but it was very similar vibes to what you’re describing. We also got t-shirts, a certificate, and the chance to hold the stuffed mascot lion at each meeting. Manipulation at its finest. I don’t recall there being anything in the way of actual drug education and it was definitely a way of further stigmatizing drug users instead of making any actionable plans to help people struggling with addiction.
I am from the Midwest too (KC but I also live in Austin now!) and our school definitely had a lot of problematic drug programs like this too. I absolutely remember being scared of “druggies” as misinformed/hateful people would say. I am a social worker now and have thought about how problematic my elementary school’s approach was. Last thing - I hate that the safety kids people cut out the “justice, freedom, love” section of the lyrics of that one song (can’t remember which lol). I feel like that says it all with their intentions.
Really appreciate the deconstructing you're doing and how thoughtfully you're doing it. Thank you.
I am from a rural Louisiana town and we a program called DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education). I don’t remember much about it but it was very similar vibes to what you’re describing. We also got t-shirts, a certificate, and the chance to hold the stuffed mascot lion at each meeting. Manipulation at its finest. I don’t recall there being anything in the way of actual drug education and it was definitely a way of further stigmatizing drug users instead of making any actionable plans to help people struggling with addiction.
I am from the Midwest too (KC but I also live in Austin now!) and our school definitely had a lot of problematic drug programs like this too. I absolutely remember being scared of “druggies” as misinformed/hateful people would say. I am a social worker now and have thought about how problematic my elementary school’s approach was. Last thing - I hate that the safety kids people cut out the “justice, freedom, love” section of the lyrics of that one song (can’t remember which lol). I feel like that says it all with their intentions.