Statistics have showcased that programs offered by the City’s Community and Arts & Culture Devlopment Department are increasing in popularity.
The city holds that this indication speaks volumes about the need for intervention at a household and community level.
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Over recent years, the City has established a strategy for dealing with substance abuse which focuses on prevention, intervention and suppression.
Programs such as ‘Essentially Me’ and ‘Driving My Future’ which focus on prevention have reached a total of 3768 learners in the current financial year. These figures have seen a 31% increase over the last year.
The ‘Strengthening Families’ program which takes place in the form of an eight-week intervention and aims to help improve household relationships has seen 16% more families participating since the last year. The total amount of participating families now amounts to 363.
The city has stated that telling children not to do drugs is a start but showing them how to build self-esteem and how to deal with bullying and other stress factors in their lives should be the focal point. Building these tools will make them more inclined to lean towards positive choices.
Investment in afterschool and holiday programs in order to keep children positively engaged is of equal importance. In the beginning of the year, the Recreation and Parks Department had participation rates of over 31 000 for primary school learners at 45 City recreation facilities and over 7 000 for high school learners across 25 recreation facilities.
The city urges citizens to take stock of their role in preventing young people from falling into the trap of substance abuse.
The participation numbers though seemingly encouraging, are only the beginning.
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Picture: Colin Davis / Unsplash