Area council educates on drug and alcohol
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Marian Bullard calls her position a God send.
Having a passion to help others, she decided to join the fight in drugs and alcohol.
As the Bay Area Council on Drugs and Alcohol coordinator, she wants to do what’s best for the children of Matagorda County. And that’s to educate them to live a drug and alcohol free life.
“This is an issue we are having in today’s classrooms,” she said.
Young kids are using these drugs when they should be in school, she added.
“Kids are being pressured and bullied into doing drugs,” she said. “I can understand how they must be feeling.”
The mission of the council is to provide leadership and clinical expertise to prevent children from using drugs and alcohol. The council is also there to help people who are addicted and to help them recover.
With positive changes in education and services, the council has been able to provide that to the county, she said.
“We must have a strong impact in our youth by being there for them and educate them about the dangers of drugs and alcohol,” she said.
Bullard has been part of the Bay Area Council on Drugs and Alcohol for two years.
Services provided by the council include assessments and screenings, motivational counseling, intervention, drug testing and community coalitions.
Other services include workshops in topics including domestic violence, HIV/AIDS and mediation workshops.
As part of their mission, tobacco presentations are offered to all age groups as a way to help educate the community about the negative effects of tobacco use.
The council works closely with law enforcement including future sting operations.
“We want to help them catch stores selling alcohol and tobacco to our youth,” she said.
The council works with schools through out the county with Youthworks, a prevention education program that aims to encourage concepts such as improving self-concept, making healthy decisions, accepting responsibility and practicing honesty.
Future programs include the Safe Ride Home program, an alternative to driving under the influence.
“Education about drugs and alcohol has to start somewhere,” she said.
Law enforcement, the medical field and interested residents meet on the fourth Tuesday of every month to discuss drug and alcohol use in schools and in the area.
“They are crying out for help and we got to help them,” she said.