MADD working to get message out-don't drive impaired

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For the past 19 years, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has been running an annual campaign urging people not to drink and drive during the holiday season. This year's Project Red Ribbon campaign was launched on Nov. 1 and will run through until the New Year, encouraging people across the country to display MADD red ribbons as a sign of their personal commitment to drive sober this holiday season and to help deliver the organization's sober driving message.

Despite the increased public awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving the work of MADD and other organizations has achieved over the years, impaired driving continues to be the number one criminal cause of death in Canada. According to figures on the MADD Canada Web site, four Canadians are killed and more than 190 are injured each day in alcohol or drug-related crashes.

But while the Red Ribbon campaign may be one of the most visible tools MADD Canada uses to try to alter these statistics, it is far from being the only one. Another tool it has at its disposal is its in-school programs designed to get its message across to a young audience.

MADD Canada has two multi-media shows that it delivers in schools across the country. One, Ace, is for students in Grades 1 through 6, while the other Mind Control, is for Grades 7 through 12. The shows are constantly evolving, with feedback from the people booking the shows being used to make the productions better each year. The latest versions have expanded their focus to include drug-impaired driving.

"We know that the stats are climbing. It's a huge issue among the youth, so we're trying to address that in this year's show," said Chantel Parkes, MADD Canada's school outreach program co-ordinator.

Some students didn't know that police can detect impairment from drugs, but the presentations are changing all that, she explained.

"They're realizing they can be caught and they're realizing the potential outcomes if they chose to, say, smoke marijuana and get in their car. So they can be caught, they can be charged. So I think there's definitely a lot of awareness going on, because it's affecting them."

The multi-media productions do a great job of getting and keeping the attention of its young audience members. Part of what makes the multi-media shows appealing is the sheer size of the production.

"You know, three giant screens in your gym, you really can't help but pay attention to it," Parkes said.

Presenting a message in a way that appeals to youth also helps.

"First off, the host is a young person ... and he speaks to the students in a way that is not preachy. It's just very real. It's very in your face. It's very honest," Parkes said.

But probably the most compelling feature of the shows is the emotional messages that they deliver.

"You know, when you hear families talking about losing their son or friends saying that they lost their best friend because they got into a car drunk, it touches you. It doesn't matter who you are or what your experiences have been in life, whether you've lost someone or not. They're heart wrenching. It's devastating to hear these stories."

The multi-media shows are in great demand, and MADD Canada is hoping to be able to expand the program over the next few years, Parkes said. "Ultimately, we want to reach every school in Canada. The more students that see it, the better."

A number of the requests for the shows are coming from the Aboriginal community, especially in Western Canada. Over the past couple of years, MADD Canada has been building strong partnerships with various friendship centres that are working with the organization to help tailor its message to the Aboriginal communities.

The friendship centres are also helping to get information about the multi-media shows out to First Nation schools.

"Often they do actually a show at a friendship centre and invite all of the schools in, which is great," Parkes said.

This year, MADD Canada has expanded its schol programs, adding Braking Point, a classroom DVD that is shipped to schools along with a curriculum guide designed to help teachers facilitate discussions among their students about what's presented in the DVD.

There are three versions of Braking Point available, one in English, one in French, and one that presents an Aboriginal perspective. Shot on a reserve in British Columbia and featuring Aboriginal actors, the Aboriginal version follows the same format as the other versions of the DVD.

"It plays out five scenarios that teenagers would typically find themselves in, on any different weekend, really."

Each of the scenarios plays out to a point where the main character must make a choice, then stops. "You don't really know what's going to happen, how the story is going to end. And then we encourage the schools to jump to the curriculum guide that comes with it and it goes through a series of questions. And there's commentary and what could happen and what should happen and different alternatives. And the whole idea of that is to get the students talking about it and get them to come up with the right decisions," Parkes said.

"One is about a young man whose mother was killed by an impaired driver. And he goes out with his friends, with his buddies, to a bonfire. And they're out by the fire and he doesn't want to drink, he doesn't want to smoke marijuana, but his buddies are saying that he should. And his aunt who he lives with, who is in a wheelchair, is telling him, be careful. And you know, she's very overprotective. And he goes out and then it cuts off just as his friend is offering him a joint," Chantel Parkes said.

Every school that books one of the multi-media shows gets a copy of the Braking Point DVD, Parkes said. There is no fee for the Braking Point video, so it's also a great alternative for schools that don't have the funding available for the multi-media shows.

For more information about MADD Canada's school programs, visit the MADD Youth Web ste at www.maddyouth.ca or call the national office at 1-800-665-6233.