COUNTYWIDE : Program Promotes Drug-Free Activities
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More than 400 students from Ventura and Los Angeles counties met during the weekend for a leadership conference in Ojai as part of the Friday Night Live alcohol- and drug-prevention program.
The conference, held at Camp Ramah, incorporated a weekend of camping and outdoor activities with youth-oriented workshops, leadership and decision-making skills, said Stephen Kaplan, director of the county’s alcohol and drug programs.
Friday Night Live chapters are established on high school campuses throughout the county, with each chapter developing its own kind of activities and raising its own funds.
“We try to make it more than just an activity program,” Kaplan said. “We try to get chapters to do community service projects as well.”
While the objective of Friday Night Live is to support alcohol- and drug-free activities, Kaplan said the long-range goal is to provide “a climate on a campus where it is cooler to be doing those kinds of activities than partying, drinking and taking drugs.”
The county received a $7,500 grant from the state Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs to assist with the conference.
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