As part of our health education program, we invited prevention specialists from FCD Prevention Works, a part of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, to visit our school. During the week of August 15 to 19, Eduardo Torres met with High School students and parents of all grades.
FCD is a non-profit organization that provides alcohol, tobacco, and other drug education to schools and colleges worldwide. FCD prevention specialists do not tell students what to do. They recognize that each student makes his or her own decisions about alcohol, tobacco, and/or other drug use.
FCD prevention specialists present students the most up-to-date information available on the physiological and psychological effects of various drugs, and provide a forum for discussing social, cultural, and personal issues that relate to the choices people make.
One thing that makes FCD unique is that all of their prevention specialists have achieved long-term recovery from alcohol or other drug addictions. Most FCD prevention specialists began their own drinking and drug use during middle school and high school. They have experienced the pressures, personal issues and social situations teens face with regard to alcohol and other drug use. They also have first-hand knowledge of the destructive aspects of drug use, and how occasional use, in their case, led to addiction.