Noble County, IN
Drug-Free Noble County, Inc.
Drug-Free Noble County (DFNC) is a local coordinating council for the Indiana Governor’s
statewide commission to reduce the illegal use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs
through law enforcement; policy development; and education, treatment, and prevention
programs in northeastern Indiana. The Too Smart To Start team in Noble County takes
the initiative’s message seriously and works to spread the word and change the attitudes
and behaviors of its residents. As such, the team uses a variety of methods to educate
the community about the harms of underage alcohol use.
The Too Smart To Start team holds a series of fun and educational afterschool programs
for fourth graders and their parents called “Extreme 4.” These events include three
workshops for the kids: “Alcohol and the Brain,” where youth are taught how their
brain works and how alcohol can affect it; “Media Messages,” where youth are shown
how the media portrays and promotes alcohol use; and “Healthy Goals for a Healthy
Future,” where youth are challenged to think about how setting healthy goals now
can help them to achieve their future goals. As part of the program, the youth receive
additional resources related to the prevention of underage alcohol use, such as
a bookmark with tips to resist peer pressure. During Extreme 4, parents attend their
own workshop called, “Parents: Key to Prevention,” where they receive information
on how to talk with their children about the dangers and health risks related to
underage alcohol use. At the end of the program, families come together for a pizza
and rootbeer dinner, where they are encouraged to discuss what they have just learned.
In an effort to increase social unacceptability of underage alcohol use in the larger
community, the Extreme 4 program, as well as other DFNC-sponsored Too Smart To Start
programs, are promoted through billboards and newspaper ads in the county’s newspapers.
In addition, the team disseminates flyers to churches, to be included in Sunday
Worship bulletins, and to grocery stores, to be put in each customers’ bags. The
DFNC team also partners with local businesses to include paycheck stuffers with
each employee’s paycheck. Additionally, the team disseminates a monthly newsletter
to all parents of fourth graders through eighth graders called “Smart Talk,” which
includes alcohol facts and tips for parents on how to talk with their children.
The newsletter also includes a Family Activity page that can be returned to school
for a small prize. These submissions are then entered into a drawing for a bigger
family prize. The Too Smart To Start team also works with the county’s high school
PRIDE teams to develop a series of short videos on the dangers of underage alcohol
use. These videos are aired during homeroom in all of the county’s middle schools.
In addition, the team works with the county’s middle school PRIDE teams to read
an alcohol fact, from a list of 50, over the daily announcements to their peers.
Community Profiles
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