During the 19 Days of Activism, the Child Advocacy Center has two goals. The first goal is that the 19 partner agencies will sponsor press releases to educate our community about child abuse, with a focus on the impact of opioids and substance abuse on children.
Here's how the La Vergne Police Department helps:
La Vergne Police Department and other local agencies are partnering with The Child Advocacy Center in Rutherford and Cannon Counties for the 7th annual international "19 Days of Activism for the Prevention of Abuse and Violence toward Children and Youth."
The main focus this year is the impact of the opioid crisis on children. This includes children with substance abuse issues and drug endangered children who are impacted by their parent’s alcohol and drug abuse.
"With the current focus on the opioid crisis in the United States we feel this is a timely topic. More and more children, parents, and teachers struggle with the effects this problem is having on children," La Vergne Police Chief Mike Walker said.
La Vergne Police Department focuses on this struggle with outreach programs in our local schools and community.
Efforts to prevent drug abuse include implementation of the D.A.R.E. program in local elementary schools. Roy Waldron Elementary and Rock Springs Elementary fifth graders are taught a 10-week D.A.R.E. curriculum by a La Vergne Police Officer.
This school year D.A.R.E. rolled out the new K-12 Opioid & OTC/RX Drug Abuse Prevention Curricula which is currently being taught at Roy Waldron Elementary, Rocks Springs Elementary, and La Vergne Middle School. This new curricula also has a community prevention lesson that is available for any community organization upon request. D.A.R.E. is a successful, proven program that focuses on current drug trends and up to date community prevention needs.
Law Enforcement representatives from La Vergne Police Department participate in various community outreach and prevention activities throughout the year.
La Vergne Police Department will continue to reach out to our community and partner with other organizations to prevent alcohol and drug abuse.
