If there’s one thing that will probably remain a constant, especially when it comes to youth, it’s problems caused by substance abuse.
In Saratoga Springs, one group has been fighting those issues for the past 30 years. The Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention Council, widely known as The Prevention Council, at 36 Phila Street, is celebrating its30th anniversary this year.
Programs run through The Prevention Council include Too Good for Drugs, Too Good for Violence, bullying prevention, homeless youth, drop out prevention programs and many others. All are focused on helping kids succeed.
Heather Kisselback, The Prevention Council’s executive director, replaced the organization’s founder Judy Eckman two years ago. She is happy to be working in the field and points out The Prevention Council offers partnerships and services to the community that go beyond alcohol and substance abuse, although those aspects are at the group’s core.
“I really enjoy this field and knew it was a pivotal time because we were about to hit 30 years and so much was changing. It was a nice transition from Judy to me as far as that past, present, future kind of look on where we’re at,” said Kisselback.
The Prevention Council started in the 1970s with Eckman and some of her friends forming peer-based programs in area schools, according to Kisselback. For a few years, it was a grassroots effort and was officially incorporated in 1979.
Director Patty Kilgore has been with the organization for 23years and started as a counselor. Back then, the center was known as ASAP, or the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Project. She recalls that the staff more than doubled at that time and they were employing cutting edge prevention programming in the schools.
“We’ve always stayed above the curve trying to have foresight on what’s needed. … Early on it was a lot of guesswork and fortunately we did a terrific job and it panned out that as research came out that the things we were doing were working,” said Kilgore.
One thing that staff recognized fairly early on was that behind substance abuse often lay an inability to use coping mechanisms, and at that point the scope of the center was broadened.
A lot of people ask what The Prevention Council’s biggest accomplishment has been, and Kisselback doesn’t hesitate to hint that just being present and having endured three decades is pretty big.
“Here you had nothing about prevention at all and you had this issue and nobody was addressing it until after the fact. You ended up in rehab or in treatment. Judy took that, flipped it around and turned it into this prevention model and introduced it to the county, from there it continued to grow,” said Kisselback.
Heather Kisselback’s philosophy centers on the vital component of networking within the community.
“It takes a village, but prevention doesn’t work unless everyone is involved. Just one class in the school district isn’t going to make a difference; we really need to approach it from all levels. That’s what a lot of our work focuses on and that’s why you see we have so many programs,” said Kisselback.
One of the most successful programs is the Saratoga Springs Partnership for Prevention, which is based on coalitions among the surrounding towns forged over the past 12 years consisting of school officials, businesses people, parents, youth, the police and other local nonprofits that work with youth. Members meet once a month and conduct yearly surveys at each school in grades six through 12.
Results of the surveys and meetings are used to build programs based on identified needs. Part of the hands-on approach incorporates small focus groups where teenagers can talk freely with staff from the center, which often yields vital information such as where kids are getting alcohol and drugs.
When Partnership for Prevention started, the 12th-gradedrinking rate was around the 60 percent mark, above state and national averages. Now it’s in the 40s. While that number has dropped, a survey from2008 showed that prescription drug abuse rates were at 5 percent in the schools and in 2010 it went to 10 percent. The fact that it jumped in two years throws up a red flag and is an example where programming at The Prevention Council is adjusted.
The group’s funding comes from a variety of places, including the New York State Office for Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services, the Department of Health, Saratoga County and federal programs. Kisselback says those resources make for a nice mix and allows them to stay in touch with everyone.
“We have a wonderful relationship with the city police here in Saratoga Springs as well as the sheriff’s department and the State Police and that’s a big help,” she said.
One of the most recent collaborations The Prevention Council has had with area schools is the Yellow Dyno Program, a child safety program for kids in kindergarten through fourth grade in the Ballston Spa Central School District.
Dave Mitchell, director of Pupil Services at BCSD, said, “It teaches them music-based lessons to recognize dangerous situations and how to protect themselves from all sorts of victimization.”
He also says that such collaboration with The Prevention Council is very important in assessing the district’s needs.
“They’re critical in meeting the needs of a high risk population of students,” he said.
The highest need right now, said Mitchell, is with homeless prevention.
“We have over 200 students who are either homeless or are at risk of being homeless. Through a McKinney-Vento grant, we hired staff from The Prevention Council to work with families that may need temporary housing, maybe at risk for losing their home, to find housing and provide resources like backpacks and sneakers,” he said.
With the advent of computers and cell phones, Kisselback says that attention to technology and how kids are exposed to situations has changed.
“For us it’s a matter of constantly staying relevant. New things are coming out, synthetic marijuana is very big right now and binge drinking,” she said.
With prom and party season approaching, The Prevention Council hosted its 30th annual Safe Spring Conference, with the message of staying sober during the season. More information on this topic and services available at The Prevention Council available at http://preventioncouncil.org.
The organization also works with the schools to support their after-prom parties and keep the police informed about when each district is having their prom/graduation. It also runs a tip line (1-866-under-21) that can be used to anonymously report a party.
