Northern BC’s youth are being encourage to know about the risks of drinking and driving through a provincial prevention program.
P.A.R.T.Y. stands for Prevent Alcohol and Risk-Related Trauma in Youth and ICBC is funding $25,000 for young kids aged 15 and older to attend one of these sessions.
Facilitator Lynn Primus says this program was started by doctors and nurses.
“We talk to young people about risky behaviours, how to identify them, and how they can avoid getting into trouble as a result of the decisions that they make on a regular basis.”
The program is said to help more than 7,000 youth across British Columbia and Primus says the response from those who attend is mostly positive.
“Their comments are that they didn’t know that certain things would be dangerous; they didn’t know what the consequences could look like; they often say that they will definitely change their mind about some of the decisions they’re making.”
She believes Northern BC’s youth are one of the most vulnerable and this money will go a long way to helping them make better decisions.
#NorthernBC youth to learn life lessons hearing the journey of a patient seriously injured in a car crash thru rehab https://t.co/aoL6eqXMeX pic.twitter.com/TO0Y4ACFLJ
— ICBC (@icbc) March 9, 2017
Primus adds the relationship between P.A.R.T.Y. and ICBC has always been mutual.
“ICBC also has some of the same initiatives, and so they support our initiative, we support theirs, and we’re actually building on one another’s initiative. Working together is just so vital.”
For more information on P.A.R.T.Y., or if you wish to sign-up for one of these meetings, you can click here.