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OVERVIEW OF L.I.F.E.
L.I.F.E. is believed to be the country's
first, and possibly the only, grass-roots (founded by youth without funding
from any source) anti-drug abuse and anti-alcohol abuse program. This program
seeks to counteract the well documented peer 
pressures
that exist among youth to take drugs and abuse alcohol. This very real
peer pressure is being applied to younger and younger ages every year -
now reaching into our elementary schools.
L.I.F.E. BACKGROUND
The L.I.F.E. concept is so simple that even a child could have conceived of it. And, in fact, it was a 16 year-old high school student who first realized that it would "take fire to fight fire" as the saying goes. In 1991 she founded and established the successful and still operating program in an Annapolis, MD high school. She recruited the L.I.F.E. "players" and made arrangements for them to give presentations and one-on-one counseling to the local elementary schools. Elementary school administrators and PTA groups were so impressed that
L.I.F.E.
CONCEPT
The L.I.F.E. concept is to establish a
very real, very positive peer pressure environment that runs counter to
the prevailing destructive ones. This program seeks to reach the very impressionable
5th and 6th grade, pre-middle school student with
the message that "doing drugs is NOT cool."
The high school students that deliver this
message, known as L.I.F.E.ers, sign a strictly enforced (by their peers)
contract to abstain from drugs and alcohol while in the program. If nothing
else, this serves to save this group even if the message fails to reach
the target.
RESPONSES TO L.I.F.E.
From elementary school faculty and
staffs:
"...students were active participants and the drug free message was loudly reinforced."
"...small group discussions added a very personal touch"
"...wonderful program with an important message ..."
From Elementary school PTA President:
