Meth education is goal of group’s town hall meeting
Posted on Sunday, September 23, 2007
Project Right Choice members are planning a town hall meeting in conjunction with Methamphetamine Awareness Month.
The event has been scheduled for 6: 30-8: 30 p. m. Oct. 25 at the Jones Center for Families chapel in Springdale. Speakers for the event are pending.
Committee members hope to publicize the event during a ceremony in early October that will feature a proclamation read by Washington County Judge Jerry Hunton declaring October as Methamphetamine Awareness Month.
“ We could get members of area law enforcement agencies or some of the supporting agencies we work with to stand behind the judge while he reads the proclamation, ” said Judy Cohea, fiscal advisor for the Fayetteville Police Department. “ It would be great, free publicity, and it would show a real effort on our behalf. ”
A venue and date for the proclamation reading had not been set as of the group’s Thursday meeting, but committee members hope to have additional information before the group’s Oct. 4 meeting.
“ If we had the town hall meeting on Oct. 25, it would be the same day as the schools’ Red Ribbon Rally, ” said committee member Barbara Price-Davis. “ That way we’d have an event for the children during the day and one for adults later in the evening. ”
Cohea said this year’s town meeting will mark the group’s third public awareness event. The committee’s first meeting, hosted at Ozark Electric Cooperative Corp., attracted nearly 250 people. The event focused on the economic impact of methamphetamine. It featured a slide show, various testimonials, a questionand-answer session, and a panel of experts from various backgrounds.
Cohea said the focus of this year’s meeting will center on general awareness.
“ We were surprised at how little the general public knew about methamphetamine, ” she said. “ A lot of people didn’t know what to look for. I think there’s this head-in-the-sand notion people have about meth. They think it won’t affect them. But when you look at cousins or friends or extended family members, most people know someone who’s been affected by it. ”
Committee member Emma Banks added that the economic impact of methamphetamine affects everyone. The group plans to present a two-year-old economic study that depicts the specific impact meth has on businesses in Northwest Arkansas.
In other news, committee members on Thursday discussed the group’s recent mini-grant application for $ 1, 500. The focus of the grant is to assist in the growth of new coalitions. The grant is being presented by the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention — a behavioral health division of the Department of Human Services.
“ Our future goal is to develop smaller committees that can focus on a particular initiative, ” Banks said. “ That way we’d get more done. We’d still meet together as a group periodically to discuss our overall development. ”
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