Rural Health Works, Inc, 504 Maple Dr, Ste B, Vidalia, GA 30474, US

The Bulloch Alcohol and Drug Council was organized in 1974 under the direction of Bulloch County Grand Jury. The Council is composed of twelve volunteers appointed by the City and County governments. Current members are: Meetings are held on the first Thursday of each month at 8: 30 AM at the Council Office, 419 Fair Road. All the meetings are open to the public. Funding for the Council consists of a five-percent portion of local taxes on the sale of beer and wine from the city of Statesboro and Bulloch County and United Way of Southeast Georgia funding. In addition, many in kind services and contributions make the Council a community supported endeavor. In 1974 the Council sponsored and administered a drug-free treatment center until federal reimbursement funding could be received. In 1991 the Council was able to secure the funds necessary to build a building. The staff and clients moved into the facility in December 1991 and named it John's Place. After ten years of SOBERFEST celebrations, the Council decided in 1991 to conduct an evaluation of the existing program. A marketing firm conducted a community survey and it was decided from the survey that SOBERFEST had served its purpose. We now focus more on the Red Ribbon Campaign in October, which includes some of the SOBERFEST activities. Our Red Ribbon Campaign has won several state awards for its efforts. As part of its service to the community, the Bulloch Alcohol and Drug Council conducts a Student Intervention Program. Young people, who have violated the alcohol/drug policies in school, or at a school function, may be given the opportunity to attend the Intervention Program. Because of the success of the Student Intervention Program, we were asked to provide the same type of education to young people from the court system who were on probation because of underage-age drinking, DUI, or other similar offenses. This service has been expanded to include young adults sent by the adult probation department as well as the Juvenile Justice Department. These services are provided free of charge to citizens of Bulloch County. A Scholarship is given each year to a qualified student who is attending Georgia Southern University or Ogeechee Technical Institute. The scholarship will pay for tuition, books or other supplies as long as the student maintains a 2.5 grade point average. Another of our supported programs is DARE ( Drug Abuse Resistance Education ). This is a police-led series of classroom lessons that teach children in the fifth grade how to resist pressure to experiment with drugs and alcohol and to have a more positive attitude towards law enforcement. At the present time, we have three DARE officers teaching in Statesboro and Bulloch County. We also help support the Club PRIDE Team at all Bulloch County Middle Schools. This is an international drug abuse prevention program designed to involve students in peer and community outreach through songs, dance, drama, and other activities. The Bulloch Alcohol and Drug Council maintains a lending library of video's, pamphlets and current information on drugs, alcohol, and related subjects. During the monthly Council meetings we administer the programs just discussed. The meetings are basically open forums and discussions are as varied as the drug and alcohol issues are. Some of the recent subjects we have dealt with are the drug sweeps in the schools, underage drinking, and the future changes in the health system as it relates to treatment for addiction. Much of our focus is on the youth of our community. We are committed to making available all the resources we can so that they will have a better future.