The Prevent Alcohol and Risk Related Trauma in Youth program (PARTY) is a long-running community program for students in Prince George.
However, the program is suspended for at least the remainder of the school year after more than two decades of community service and educating more than15,000 local and regional high school students.
Gary Godwin, a retired RCMP officer and a staple of the program, speaks to some of the issues that have caused the program to halt.
“We need volunteers and we need them dedicated for at least two years because if you get 40 students in there, they've gotta move around the hospital to go to different stations," he said. "They're in a classroom for the first two lectures, and then they have to go to the chapel, and then to the morgue, and then for lunch, then back to the classrooms. So you need some volunteers to be there, make sure that all the kids are together.”
Godwin notes that another issue that has impacted the program is the day it is held. Mondays can be a difficult day to schedule, as the program often loses time to school holidays and long weekends. This issue compounds and often the program has to delay visits for classrooms for months.
Godwin also notes that there has been a noticeable decrease in the number of students attending.
Running for 22 years, the program aimed to educate young people about the dangers of drunk driving and other risk-taking behaviours. It sees industry professionals and individuals with real-life experiences educate young people, increase their awareness of risks and urge them to take personal responsibility for their safety.
In-person sessions are held at the University Hospital of Northern BC, along with simulated memorial services in the hospital chapel and visits to the morgue. These experiences are designed to give students hands-on participation with topics that they may be keen to avoid and therefore not understand.
Activities include introduction to training in naloxone administration, CPR, understanding the significance of the recovery position and the effects of substance impairment on the body and mind. As well, students are spoken to by individuals impacted by car accidents, drug addiction and other tragedies. They also practise resuscitation techniques with Northern Health and learn how people with disabilities deal with daily life.
Time will tell if the PARTY program will restart operations with new volunteers or if another similar program will take its place. For now, there are no programs like it in Prince George for students.
To learn more, visit www.pgpartyprogram.ca.
