Pike drug abuse prevention effort scheduled

David Hulse
Posted 8/21/12

MILFORD, PA — Drug abuse and prevention continued to be a prevalent topic for the Pike County Commissioners last week.

Jill Gamboni, director of the annual Reality Tour program, appeared to …

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Pike drug abuse prevention effort scheduled

Posted

MILFORD, PA — Drug abuse and prevention continued to be a prevalent topic for the Pike County Commissioners last week.

Jill Gamboni, director of the annual Reality Tour program, appeared to promote public participation in the program, which uses a series of realistically staged scenarios to illustrate the evolution of abuse from its beginnings to arrest, emergency room overdose treatment, prison and a funeral scene.

Gamboni said about 35 volunteers are needed to stage the program, which includes members of the Delaware Valley Drama Club. This year, the program will focus on prescription drug abuse.

Gamboni said she began the local tour in 2007, based on her experiences on the county’s child-death-review team. Cooperating agencies include the Pike County district attorney and coroner and Shohola Township Police.

She said the performers are “good at what they do,” creating realistic scenes. She recalled one instance when an uninitiated church deacon arrived during the program and, not knowing what was happening, “started yelling for someone to call the cops.”

Commissioner Rich Caridi, who along with Commissioner Matt Osterberg, personally contributed to fund the program and is a former warden of the Pike County Correctional Facility, said he helped introduce a similar professionally done program there 10 years ago, called “Reality Check.”

At the event, students from all three Pike area high schools go through the incoming prisoner process, secure visitation and cell sharing. “When they hear the door slamming behind them at intake, they get the point,” Caridi said.

Mary Gilpatrick, local director for Catholic Services, operates drug- and alcohol-abuse treatment services both privately and through a probation-related program at the prison. She said that the program began with 35 slots in 2000 and now has grown to serve 110 people.

Osterberg also recommended participation in a support program, Parents for Prevention, which meets at the Wellness Center in Milford. Through his participation he said he has heard from parents, which he never would have suspected or known of as having drug issues. That group next meets on March 19.

Two 6 p.m. performances of the three-hour Reality Tour will be presented at the Milford Bible Church on March 19 and again on April 23. Pre-registration is required and children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent. The program is free, but a $5 donation is suggested.

For more information, contact Gamboni at 570/390-9102, or email jillgamboni@yahoo.com.

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