Art Steinman

A daily marijuana smoker who was not doing well in his classes, the student would have been asked to leave school.

But when he joined SACY --the School-Age Children and Youth substance abuse prevention program-- he slowly opened up about his problems, SACY Youth Stream Leader Heather Charlton said.

The student is just one of about 30 teenagers who are part of SACY, a pilot project in two Vancouver secondary schools, Kitsilano and Tupper.

When he confided that he couldn’t read or write, because of a learning disability, Charlton, respecting his painful disclosure, said the school would be committed to educating him. She referred him to the school’s youth and family worker, who arranged for tutoring and talked to his teachers. Eventually, the boy told Charlton that his father was HIV positive and was himself a chronic drug user.

That told Charlton that the student, “is not being a delinquent. He’s got so much pain, that’s why he’s medicating.”

SACY coordinator Art Steinman said the pilot program grew out of the Vancouver School District’s desire to move beyond a piecemeal approach to substance abuse prevention. “They felt that a more comprehensive approach was needed.” The district reached out to Vancouver Coastal Health and, along with representatives from the City’s Drug Policy Program and Social Planning Department and researchers from UBC and the Centre for Addictions Research, they designed SACY, to reach out to children, teachers and parents. SACY is funded by the Vancouver School District and VCH.

“Neither Kits nor Tupper has any greater or lesser drug and alcohol problem than any other school. It cuts across all schools.” Art Steinman, SACY coordinator

Leading up to the pilot year, Steinman interviewed every Vancouver secondary principal, letting them know about the program and discovering how they handle drug-and-alcohol-related incidents. Tupper and Kitsilano were eventually selected as the pilot schools, so that there would be one from each side of the city. “Neither Kits nor Tupper has any greater or lesser drug and alcohol problem than any other school,” Steinman said. “It cuts across all schools.”

Steinman explained that SACY focuses on four areas: youth engagement, parents, teacher training in drug education and school policy.

The program first administered surveys to students in Grades 8 and 9, asking them about their experiences with alcohol and drugs. And while the program actively recruited students who had been suspended because of alcohol and drug use, all students were invited to join the SACY group, which meets once a week, at lunch. Most who joined use alcohol and drugs but some were simply interested in the issue and wanted their opinions to be heard. The students were told they would be invited to school and district meetings focused on drug-and-alcohol policy in Vancouver schools.

The current policy allows principals to suspend a student for three days. The students sometimes spend the time at home or at school; in the latter instance, they’re assigned to spend the time in the hallway, library or outside of the principal’s office. The SACY students were clear in stating that the current policy does not work. SACY is studying a North Vancouver School District policy that maintains the three-day suspension but requires students to attend a centre where they are exposed to drug education and are led through self-assessment.

“Rather than focusing on the drug, we’re focusing on the people. That frees people to get to a place where they can admit there is a downside to their drug use.” Art Steinman

Along with their work on a better district drug-and-alcohol policy, students in the SACY program have attended a play the examined the link between depression, mental health and drug use, volunteered at the Salvation Army’s Harbour Light shelter and discussed everything from tolerance of differences to their own goals. They welcome guest speakers, such as the young woman who just completed a treatment program and the Asian male who explained how training in martial arts helped him to clean up his life.

SACY aims to educate teachers, too. Students have held awareness events for Kits and Tupper teachers. Teachers were asked to write, anonymously, any questions about drug and alcohol use they wanted to ask the students. The students then sat individually at a number of tables in the room, with groups of four or five teachers travelling from table to table, listening as the students answered the questions. “It led to some very frank and open discussions,” Steinman said. For example, a teacher’s question wondering why a student would come to school stoned, particularly when he or she knows it is against the rules, led to a student opening up about trying to cope with issues such as pain, loss and anxiety.

Afterwards, teachers remarked on insights they gained. As well, “Kids left the room saying, ‘Adults have actually listened to me and shown some interest in my perspective’,” Steinman said. “Now, these kids are starting to realize they will be respected, their words will not be used against them and they’re starting to open up.” They also know it’s not appropriate to go to school stoned and now that they’re feeling they’re being heard they’re starting to say they would like to cut back on their use.

“Rather than focusing on the drug, we’re focusing on the people,” Steinman said. “That frees people to get to a place where they can admit there is a downside to their drug use.”

Parents have not been left out of the equation. Stephanie Carros is the SACY Parent Leader. She said one of her biggest challenges is trying to get parents to come back into the school and participate. After children leave elementary school, parents mistakenly assume they’re not wanted or needed at high school.

“Most kids will say --although they may not say it to their parents-- that they want to see more of their parents. That is the one thing that comes out in every one of our conversations with kids, especially if they feel vulnerable.” Stephanie Carros, SACY

Through SACY, Grades 8 and 9 students organized a parent celebration night where students wrote up the invitations, decorated the rooms and gave several presentations. Many of the parents did not speak English as a first language (translation was provided) and had not spent a lot of time at the children’s schools.

In this case, the Kits students talked to Tupper parents, while Tupper students visited Kits. That gave the parents the opportunity to ask questions they may shy away from asking their own children or their children’s peers. Carros said it was amazing to view the positive interactions between parents and students.

She said it’s important to work on the relationship between parents and their own children too, because if that relationship is strong, children are far less likely to use drugs. “Most kids will say --although they may not say it to their parents-- that they want to see more of their parents. That is the one thing that comes out in every one of our conversations with kids, especially if they feel vulnerable.” She added that in her work with parents and kids over many years, “There’s not one kid I’ve ever heard from who wants to let their parents down.”

Added Steinman, “When kids have a good relationship with their family there’s less anger and less reason to use drugs to compensate.”

Funding for SACY at the two schools has been extended for one more year.