NAÏVE is an acronym for Narcotic, Alcohol, Inhalant & Violence Education, and the program is an educational approach to drug prevention for families, parents, teachers, and adolescents.  The NAÏVE Program was created through a community-based committee made up of bereaved relatives, concerned citizens, educators, healthcare professionals and members of law enforcement.  This committee began in January 2002 and spent a year creating the program before beginning to present it in the community in 2003.   The presentation is continually being updated and is tailored to the individual needs of each locality where it is presented.  The goal of NAÏVE is to educate the community in the hopes of reducing the amount of deaths associated with drugs, alcohol and violence in our area.

 

The Middletown Township Police Department, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania was proud to start the NAÏVE Program.  But as the success of the program continues to grow, it was introduced and offered to other jurisdictions in various states.  For other agencies participating in the NAIVE Program, scroll down to the police patches and click on the link to send an email to it's police representative or contact person.  If your local police department is not listed, please ask them to provide the NAIVE Program in your area.

 

According to recently released data from the federal government, the Philadelphia region, consisting of the eight-county metropolitan area including Bucks, was among the highest in the amount of hospital emergency room visits from drug usage and overdoses in the country.  This area also ranked among the highest in the nation for the largest death rate due to drug overdose.  This report found that young adults and teenagers in Philadelphia and its suburbs were more likely to be hospitalized from reactions to illegal drugs.

 

Our research identified at least 688 deaths from 1998 through 2005 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania alone directly attributed to drug and alcohol use, 145 of those deaths during the last 12 months of that period.  That is an average of 7 deaths per month for the whole eight-year period, but an average of over 12 deaths per month for the past year!  This dramatic increase noted that the majority of these deaths were of young people between the ages of 13 and 25.   Unfortunately, this suburban epidemic is being experienced throughout the country, not just in Bucks County or other Philadelphia area suburbs.

 

The NAÏVE Program attempts to educate the public of the warning signs and symptoms of drug use and the graphic reality of the dangers involved.  Viewers are educated about various types of drugs and their paraphernalia, trends in production and use, the violence associated with drugs and the effects of drugs on the body - including the lethal risks.  The program also shows the numerous faces behind the statistics so everyone learns that addiction and death can occur in any school, family or neighborhood.  The shocking presentation concludes with a mother sharing her personal story of how she lost her child to drugs, which has the greatest emotional impact and brings the message home while reducing many to tears!

 

It is through the education of parents, adolescents, teachers and schools that we can reduce the amount of our own children using drugs and alcohol.  Police, parents, schools and the community, continuing to work together, can reduce the amount of deaths associated with drugs, alcohol and violence in our area.  We can't afford to be NAÏVE anymore!