Blog #8 by Liz Linden

As the semester winds down, I have been thinking about the amount of work we have all done no this project. In doing the research on this topic and gaining the exposure to the impact of the issue, I have started to notice more incidences of the impact drugs has on the lives of many people — even if they are not the users. I was talking to someone this past week and telling her about our project. She shared with me a story about her husband’s history of drug use and she stated that she wished he would have been exposed to a strong support network when he was younger because she believes if he would have had support he would not have turned to drugs. As I was listening to her story, I thought about our intervention program and while I am not short sighted enough to believe this program will stop all drug use and abuse, I do believe it will create an awareness of the importance of parental involvement and supporting healthy lifestyles.

The project we created provides an opportunity for parents and kids to come together and create a plan that can be reinforced in the home. It is designed to open lines of communication — even if it is not specifically about drugs — it allows kids to share ideas and thoughts with their parents. This group has come together and brought each of our own skills and knowledge and collaborated well to create an evidence guided intervention that is intended to help children develop confidence and guide them in the importance of healthy choices. It has been a good semester and I am very pleased with the final product. Great work, team.