The Delaware County Prevention Council is offering several programs this spring, including Guiding Good Choices, which is dedicated to educating young people in Muncie about the consequences of drugs and alcohol and providing them with tools for success.
Wilisha Scaife, the leader of Guiding Good Choices, says the program aims to help families make better life choices.
“The overall aim is to equip families and parents with tools to help encourage their kids to live drug and alcohol free,” Scaife said.
The program is free and made possible by a three-way partnership between the Ball Brothers Foundation, the Union Missionary Baptist Church and the Delaware County Prevention Council.
Scaife said the program was brought to her attention by the Prevention Council where she learned that kids are trying alcohol and drugs at younger ages than ever before.
Members of the Guiding Good Choices program meet weekly at Union Missionary Baptist Church to discuss tactics on how to approach the difficult topic of family management. During their meetings, families eat together and break off into separate groups. Children work on arts and crafts and watch entertaining videos while bonding with their friends.
Cheyenne Whitney, a Ball State elementary education major, works with children at Guiding Good Choices and believes programs like these are important to children's engagement in various parts of their life.
“I think it’s absolutely crucial. A lot of schools are very separate. It’s school life, community life, and family life. Bringing those three together is crucial and is a necessary resource that children need to thrive and be successful,” Whitney said.
The adults in the program talk about their struggles and ask each other questions about mentorship, like how to better lead their children to make good life choices. They go over Powerpoints, workbooks and role playing that are all centered on family engagement and interaction.
Scaife says she has her own approach and philosophy on effective parenting.
“I don’t want somebody to come in and teach me how to parent. So, my philosophy for the work that I do is peer empowerment. We come together and link up and talk about strengths and weaknesses,” Scaife said.
Erika Serf, a mom of three boys, attended a Guiding Good Choices session to learn how to strengthen her family and their relationship.
“The goal is to educate my family first so they don’t learn [about drugs and alcohol] on the streets,” Serf said.
Scaife believes that educating children and their parents is important for a better future.
“There’s a quote in the Bible that says people perish for lack of knowledge. You don’t have to be a Bible believer, but I think that’s clear. So, I think that is the biggest thing is just communicating and educating,” Scaife said.
The Guiding Good Choices program will host its last session today, April 27 from 6-8:30 p.m. at Union Missionary Baptist Church located on 1100 N. Macedonia Ave.
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