It's cheaper to warn

"Harmony" unites teachers and police in the fight against a common enemy

From November 24 to November 26, Pskov hosted the final stage of the international program “Prevention of drug addiction among the youth of Russia”. The result is three dozen specialists who know how to protect teenagers from drug trafficking networks.

The program, which is being implemented in many regions of Russia, was brought to Pskov by Project Harmony Inc. (Project Harmony Inc.). Specialists trained under the program - teachers, social workers, police officers - will be able not only to independently conduct classes in schools, but also to teach others. For their work, they can use the textbook “I choose life”, developed and published by Harmony specialists.

As Artem Kachkovsky, director of programs for the prevention of drug addiction among Russian youth, said: “We give children perseverance and knowledge that can save them when they encounter some kind of negative phenomena - violence, drug addiction, antisocial groups.”

“It is recognized all over the world that prevention is the most effective approach to drug addiction and crime,” says Artem Kachkovsky, “because it is much more expensive to clean it all up later than to prevent it in the first place.” Primary universal prevention of drug addiction will include both medical and legal information. That's what the police are for.

Working with the police is a distinctive feature of the programs of the Harmony project. As Mr. Kachkovsky noted, for Russia there is such a problem as a prejudiced attitude towards the police. But it may well change if law enforcement officers come to schools not only to take away the next bully, but to play with children, talk frankly with them, tell true stories.

In addition to trained specialists, another result of the program is direct contacts and communication between people involved in the same business. Social workers, psychologists and police officers from youth departments now know each other by sight.

Svetlana PROKOPIEVA.