Story by Ainsley Hall
SPRING MILLS — Recently, high school students throughout Berkeley County visited Spring Mills High School to hear from Joe Markiewicz, master facilitator and national youth trainer at Building Stronger Communities, about putting together Drug-Free Youth Coalitions in their schools.
Students are working together to help prevent their peers from using drugs and alcohol through positive messages. Through The Martinsburg Initiative, Markiewicz talked with the students about ways they can reach out and make a difference in their communities.
Karla Hillard, English teacher at Spring Mills High School, and Carol Hamilton, former assistant vice principal, worked together to start a drug-free coalition at their school. They wanted to create a place where students could work together and share their experiences as they encourage their peers not to use drugs.
After her brother died from an overdose, Hillard became passionate about helping students dealing with these issues and helping them spread positive messages throughout the school.
“We are trying to focus on community engagement and positive affirmation,” said Alicha Sy, president of the Spring Mills High School Drug-Free Youth Coalition. “We are also hoping to start reaching out to the middle school to start creating positive engagement there, because that’s where it starts.”
The coalition’s impact continues to grow, as other schools in the county, such as Musselman High School, are starting their own coalitions. Spring Mills invited Musselman’s coalition, as well as a representative from Martinsburg High School and a professor at Shepherd University, to hear from Markiewicz during their training session. Together, they hope all the coalitions will work together to have a bigger impact on the county.
Through the training, Markiewicz helped the students learn how to identify their biggest concerns, come up with strategies and enhance the protective factors in place within the school. He showed them how regular meetings should look like through a mock meeting. He also encouraged the students to share positive messages instead of focusing on the negative and using scare tactics. His goal is to help students become leaders in their schools.
Christian Cox, president of the Musselman High School Drug-Free Youth Coalition, joined the new coalition, because he wanted to build the club from the foundation. Participating in the training helps prepare him and his other team members as they try to create this new group and remind their fellow students that they aren’t alone.
“It’s important, because it allows us to bond together,” Cox said. “If we don’t get that, people can more easily get depressed and feel like they are struggling alone. We want to let them know they aren’t alone and that there is someone there for them.”
These coalitions don’t just plan on impacting their schools but impacting the community by showing everyone that there are young people who are against drug use and want to make a difference. Markiewicz believes that young people are part of the solution in drug prevention. By equipping them with the knowledge they need, they will continue to have a huge impact on their community.