Empowering students to say no to drugs and alcohol requires more than telling them, “Just Say No!” Through the instruction of 15 sessions of Botvin’s Evidence Based, LifeSkills students gain knowledge on refusal skills, self-esteem and more. Paige Carroll, a member of the Prevention team at the Council on Chemical Abuse (COCA), talks with host, Jennifer Kaucher, about teaching LifeSkills to students in the Reading School District. The curriculum has been proved to reduce drug, alcohol and tobacco use among students who participate in these classes. COCA is able to bring this education to students in Berks County due to specific grant funding.

Council on Chemical Abuse staff Sonia Santiago, a Certified Prevention Specialist and Yvonne Stroman, Community Programs Specialist sit down to discuss the Underage Drinking Program facilitated by the Council on Chemical Abuse in collaboration with the local District Magistrates, law enforcement, juvenile probation and Certified Drug and Alcohol professionals. Alcohol is viewed as a gateway drug.

Gateway means it can lead to individuals to using other drugs that are illegal. The consequences of use of alcohol for young people under the age of 21 can lead to legal sanctions, driver’s license suspension, court fines and other costs. Learn about how the program is coordinated in an effort to help young people learn about the dangers of underage drinking, its consequences and resources that are available to help people who may need treatment.

Sitting in a class at 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning may not be a choice, but the information learned in this classroom is life changing. The Underage Drinking Program of Berks County is an educational opportunity for underage youth and parents to learn about the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol, and for some to get the help they may need to address an addiction.

Joe Boyle has been an instructor for the Underage Drinking Program of Berks County for 9 years, and a schoolteacher for 18 years. He has seen the harm drugs and alcohol can do to a young life. Hear from Joe about the topics discussed in this class as he sits down with Jennifer Kaucher to talk about this beneficial program for youth.

Problem gambling is a disorder that interrupts every part of your life. Relationships are compromised, employment is challenged and finances are shaky. It can cause bankruptcy, physical and emotional stress and worry. Join Yvonne Stroman, Community Programs Specialist from Council on Chemical Abuse and her guest, Bob Schwartz as they discuss the destruction that can occur as the result of gambling.

As an individual who struggled with the a gambling addiction for over 25 years, Bob gives some insight into how his gambling started, how it progressed, and the steps he took to find help and live a gambling free lifestyle. Bob states, “I never did anything illegal to get alcohol, but for gambling…..”

Today, Bob contracts with the Council on Chemical Abuse to deliver education awareness programs in the community to make individuals aware of the harm that comes from gambling. Bob has spoken with individuals who have lost their life savings and have fallen into depths of despair. Bob works to provide resources, awareness and hope to others so that individuals struggling can find a way solutions and hope.

As Director of Planning and Resource Development, Marcia Goodman – Hinnershitz sits down with Yvonne Stroman to talk about problem gambling, its pervasiveness, behaviors and attitudes associated with problem gambling and what resources are available for people living in Berks County who may be living with a gambling addiction, but do not know where to turn for help.

Marcia indicates that she has been with the Council on Chemical Abuse for more than 15 years and she has witnessed the growth of the agency to include problem gambling and gambling addiction as a problem behavior that needs to be addressed. “In the beginning, COCA focused on alcohol and other drugs”. As time passed the Council on Chemical Abuse began to address and appropriate services that address other problem behaviors such as problem gambling.

Once casino gambling became legalized in Pennsylvania, more monies became available to financially support prevention and treatment efforts. Marcia talks about the availability of prevention and intervention services for problem gambling as well as the hope that awaits individuals and families.

What are tobacco holidays and why do they celebrate them? Every year, during the month of March people all over the country celebrate Kick Butts Day - a national day designed to educate and empower teens to say no to tobacco.

The Council on Chemical Abuse (COCA) joins in on the celebration! Prevention Specialist, Teresa Tieman Detweiler joins Jennifer Kaucher in this video podcast to talk about youth and tobacco education. They discuss the events and education around Kick Butts day and a new popular trend among young adults: smoking e - cigarettes.

Teresa and Jennifer also discuss the other tobacco holidays the Council on Chemical Abuse recognizes, World No Tobacco Day in May and the Great American Smoke Out in November.

Did you know Nicotine is said to be the most addictive substance – more addictive than heroin?! The drug found in tobacco products, nicotine, is what leads to addiction. Council on Chemical Abuse offers resources to help people quit smoking. In this podcast, host Jennifer Kaucher is joined with Teresa Tieman Detweiler to talk about the free tobacco cessation classes COCA offers to Berks County residents. Teresa talks about what the classes are about and what is offered to those who join, along with information about how someone can quit for good.

George Vogel started working with the State Employment Office and had an interest in criminal justice. He ultimately was assigned to work with people on probation, parole and in prison. George found that the people he worked with could not hold a job. George says, “There was another piece that was so obvious it would be hard to deny it … Just about every person had some history of drug and alcohol addiction in their past”.

George says he became very interested in working with that segment of the population. At about the same time, the Berks County Prison Warden, George Wagner decided that the prison would play a major role and set up a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program within the prison walls. Having heard time and time again about individuals re-entering into the prison system due to drugs, this seemed like the next logical step.

Years later that program and the programs that COCA offers have made a big difference. George says, “To me it means that if we can intervene on this part of the person’s life we can do a lot as far as him or her coming back into the prison again”. People come up to him and say, “George, I don’t know if you remember me or not”

George does remember the people he has met and on the other side the story is the people George will never see again because of overdose or continued addiction. George says, “That’s the sad part of the story because addiction is the most treatable disease that there is, meaning that once treatment occurs and recovery continues, the restoration of body parts that were damaged can heal”. Treatment and Recovery work!

Yvonne Stroman is a Community Program Specialist with the Council On Chemical Abuse and has been affiliated with COCA for over 20 years. She believes it’s important to share recovery. Yvonne says at Coca “We speak about the disease of addiction, people do and can get well. Families do get better. Hope is just around the corner and often times that hope is found by contacting the Council on Chemical Abuse”.

Yvonne says “COCA is responsible for the administration of public dollars back into the community. By working with local drug and alcohol providers COCA works to offer the most effective means of recovery and prevention”. COCA works collaboratively in the community offering recovery resources, prevention, treatment for the disease of addiction and intervention services.

Yvonne says sometimes you ask, “Is it worth it with all this calamity, but when you see families and young people getting well, and you see them being productive citizens. That’s a huge motivator to keep working in the trenches making a difference”. One of the things that motivates Yvonne to keep going is running into individuals who will come back and tap her on the shoulder and say “Hey remember me, here I am, I doing well”

All I ask of people who have been help is for them to pay it forward. Seeing kids that I knew grew up in a shelter having kids now and raising their family in a healthy manner is the reward. Yvonne adds that one of the reasons she continues to get up and do the work every day is hearing people tell her, “yeah, I was benefactor of a service from COCA and I am doing wonderful today, Thank You.”. That’s one of the reasons I continue to get up and do the work everyday

Jennifer Kaucher, a Prevention Specialist with COCA got involved with drug and alcohol prevention in high school. She had a deep desire to get involved in events that weren’t surrounded by drugs and alcohol. She and 3 friends started a program that encouraged drug and alcohol free lifestyle, activities and events. During her senior year Jennifer participated in an ‘Earn and Learn’ class that COCA offered.

After graduating from Alvernia University she joined the COCA staff.

Now she gets to go to area schools, manage the COCA website and social media outlets and is involved with creating and producing COCA related materials that are disseminated in the community. Jennifer states that she finds fulfillment in being able to reach out to high school students with the resources necessary to equip students with alternatives to drug and alcohol activities.

Jennifer has been with COCA for two years and says, “I learned a lot more about addiction as a brain disease. I have friends who are in recovery now and am learning about what that is like. When the topic of drugs and alcohol comes up at the dinner table I am the one who says, “They are not bad people, they are sick”. Jennifer adds that when someone is in active addiction and gets into recovery you can see the big difference. You can see that they are well. It brings a new life to them and their family.