Drug-Free South Resolves to Make 2015 Its Greatest Year Yet

Drug-Free South (DFS) wants to help kids understand the truth about drugs, so they don’t get caught off-guard when a dealer is trying to talk them into doing something they will always regret. That is why volunteers for the group have resolved to make 2015 their best year yet in terms of reaching youth across Tennessee.

Marc and Anne Vallieres of Canon County have trekked over 10,000 miles to educate students using the Truth About Drugs curriculum, but say they are nowhere near their goal. “We want to reach all young people in Tennessee,” says Anne Vallieres, “We are passionate about helping these kids.”  

Drug-Free South, the Tennessee chapter of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World, works with youth, educators, parents, religious and community leaders and law enforcement officers to provide drug education to children and teens. The Truth About Drugs uses a series of drug education resources that work—a multimedia program that speaks to the youth of today, informing them of the truth about drugs and empowering them to make their own decisions to live drug-free.

The cornerstone of the program is a series of booklets that provide the facts about the most commonly abused drugs: marijuana, alcohol, ecstasy, cocaine, crack cocaine, crystal meth, inhalants, heroin, LSD, prescription drugs, painkillers, and Ritalin.

Next is a series of 16 award-winning “They Said, They Lied” public service announcements. They are contemporary, high-impact communications aimed directly at youth.

Finally, the core of the Truth About Drugs educational program is a 100-minute documentary, The Truth About Drugs: Real People, Real Stories. The film is a hard-hitting, no-holds-barred presentation told by former users who themselves survived life-shattering addiction.

Drug-Free South is dedicated to handling the drug problem in Tennessee, and wants to encourage all educators to visit drugfreesouth.org to schedule a drug education seminar in their school. Parents and teachers can order Truth About Drugs booklets and DVDs free of charge from the website or download the free Truth About Drugs Education Application onto their iPads or iPhones. For more information on the Truth About Drugs program, or to order materials, visit drugfreesouth.org.