SAP takes aim at alcohol, drug abuse

“Our mandate is to decrease incidents of substance abuse, with the ultimate aim to prevent it altogether,” the co-ordinator of the district Substance Abuse Prevention team said.
Kelly Olson, who will be manning the SAP booth during the World Health Organization conference here, noted while abuse of all drugs is a concern, alcohol is the one most commonly addressed by the group.
“The message is consume alcohol safely. We’re not telling you not to drink, just be responsible,” she stressed.
And this policy will be promoted at this very conference, said Olson.
“We were approached by the WHO committee to have the conference alcohol-free, and have OSAID [Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving] volunteers do it with a ‘mocktail’ bar,” she noted.
“SAP is very proud of the OSAID group. They do a lot of youth-oriented programs done by youth,” Olson remarked. “Being high school students, they know so much about what kids want.”
Over the past few years, the “mocktail” bar has been featured at various events across the region, travelling as far east as Thunder Bay and west to Rainy River.
But for those who do choose to consume alcohol, SAP is tackling the problem head-on, promoting a designated driver program at most bars in the district.
This program offers free soft drinks and snacks for designated drivers at participating bars. And local businesses, such as Pizza Hut, will give coupons for a free medium pizza to those who are designated drivers.
Most recently, SAP has introduced “glow glasses”—plastic cups with a phosphorescent base clearly showing who in the bar is a designated driver—as well as permanent signs promoting the message to drive sober.
During the holiday season, this message is reinforced with the “Grab-a-Cab” program at local bars and restaurants, in which vouchers for a free ride home in a cab are handed out, thanks to a partnership with local taxi company North Air Services.
Yet another initiative is “Party Packs,” where the SAP team, in conjunction with the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, provides packages of information, recipes, and other goodies promoting safe alcohol consumption during the summer season.
These packs also will be handed out at the WHO conference here.
SAP also contributes some funding to the district Drug Awareness Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program, including a summer camp for children and an impaired driving simulator promoted by the Ontario Provincial Police.
It also supports the largely volunteer-driven “Chem-free grad,” where each June graduating high school students are provided with a fun and alcohol-free environment to celebrate the occasion.
SAP also gets its message out via a short monthly program on local radio station CFOB (640 AM).
The district SAP program is one of 22 operating in Ontario.