BEAVERCREEK — Beavercreek Police Chief Denis Evers requested permission from the Beavercreek City Council to request grant money to fund the DARE (Drug Assistance Resistance Education) program for the next school year.
The amount requested is approximately $27,348.23.
The police department, after receiving the green light from city council, will be applying for the Ohio Attorney General’s Drug Use Prevention Grant Program to help fund the DARE program in the Beavercreek City Schools for the school year 2017-18.
DARE was started in Los Angeles in 1983 as a part of the War Against Drugs campaign. Since then, the program has become a nationwide assistance program to not only educate school aged children in drug issues and topics, but also providing education regarding gangs, violent behavior, smoking, alcohol consumption, peer pressure and more current topics such as bullying and responsible social media practices.
With the DARE program, students are accustomed to seeing police officers in the school and develop a rapport with them, making it easier for them to confide in them if needed. It also lessens fear against the police.
The Beavercreek DARE program provides education to over 600 students per year. The grant money requested will cover approximately 50 percent of the salary for the nine months period for the officer assigned to the program.
For more information contact the police department’s non-emergency line.
