The Bexar County D.A.R.E. Board of Directors currently serves the citizens of San Antonio and Bexar County by educating children, educators, parents and many others in drug use/abuse awareness and alternatives in violence. D.A.R.E. teaches our children from kindergarten through high schools – not only to refuse drugs – but arm them with information that will keep them drug-free and healthy. The solution is education. D.A.R.E. gives our children the tools they need to resist using/abusing illegal or prescription drugs, violence, bullying and make right choices. D.A.R.E. sends a highly trained deputy constable and/or police officer into classrooms to teach students how to refuse tobacco, alcohol, illegal and prescription drugs and how to avoid violence and stop bullying. By getting the message from street-wise law enforcement officer – one who’s been out there and has seen how alcohol, illegal drug use/abuse and violence can destroy lives, families and their own health – kids take the message seriously!

The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Program is one of the oldest intervention and prevention programs in the United States today. D.A.R.E. is taught by over 15,000 police officers in over 10,000 communities (including current San Antonio & Bexar County Schools) who serve as the first line of defense in America’s schools. D.A.R.E. provides our children/youth with far more than educating them on the harmful effects of using/abusing illegal and/or prescription drugs. Using a science and research based curriculum, D.A.R.E. teaches communication and refusal skills as well as decision-making skills. D.A.R.E. now has enhanced lessons and activities on Cyber Bullying, Teen OTC/Prescription Drug Abuse, Methamphetamine, Bullying, Gangs, and Internet Safety. Additionally, there have been 19 studies since 1997 showing D.A.R.E. is effective including a study by the National Medical Association showing D.A.R.E. graduates are five times less likely to begin smoking than non-D.A.R.E. graduates.

 

We cannot fight illegal drugs or violence without the assistance of parents, teachers, our local civic clubs, associations, organizations, concerned citizens and good corporate citizens.  The cost of incarcerating a prisoner for one year is over $40,000 while the cost of a D.A.R.E. workbook is .89 cents.  The math is straight-forward; we can invest pennies now or pay thousands of dollars in the very near future. The “War On Drugs” is not over with the victims being our families and our children! Your Bexar County D.A.R.E. Board is working to reduce cost of training and certifying D.A.R.E. Officers and providing other funding assistance as funds are available to support all our schools and districts within San Antonio and Bexar County. We can cut our losses and reduce the number of victims with your help and support; it is and takes a Together Everyone Achieves More commitment, attitude and effort.