HOULTON — Jack Foster was the guest speaker Jan. 28 at the Houlton Rotary Club. Foster is with the Aroostook Teen Leadership Camp, a program of AMHC.
Foster was an educator, and then began with AMHC to assist in prevention work. The camp ATLC was formed in 1987. It is a leadership development and drug prevention program serving Aroostook County teens in grades 6-9 in northern Maine. Teens attend a five-day camp in Limestone at the Limestone Community School also known as Maine School of Science and Mathematics. There are also several follow up meetings throughout the year.
Contributed photo/Michael Clark
GUEST SPEAKER — Jack Foster, middle, was the guest speaker at the Houlton Rotary Club Jan. 28. With Foster are Rotarians Dean Clark, left, and Ryan Bushey, president.
According to the ATLC’s website, the camp is a leadership development and drug prevention program focusing on Aroostook County students in grades 6-9. There are two program components: a five-day residential summer camp held at Limestone Community School/Maine School of Science and Mathematics in late July, and a variety of follow-up programs and activities that are offered during the school year. The summer camp program provides leadership skills, drug awareness information, team-building, and coping skills development.
Mission — The Aroostook Teen Leadership Camp (ATLC) program develops teen drug prevention leaders having the necessary knowledge, skills, training, and support to effectively work with other teens during a residential summer camp program and in follow-up activities during the school year.
Vision: Aroostook County will be ranked as the lowest county in Maine for substance use among students in grades 6-9, as measured by Maine’s Youth Drug and Alcohol Use Survey (MYDAUS).
Core Beliefs —We believe that teens are effective substance abuse prevention leaders when given the necessary knowledge, tools, training, and support. We also believe teens listen and talk more to other teens than to adults.
Program Need — The 2008 Maine Youth Drug and Alcohol Use Survey shows Aroostook County teens in grades 6-9 as having a drug use problem, with 15.3 percent reporting use by grade 6. By grade 9, alcohol use increased 20.8 percent, tobacco use 12.4 percent and marijuana use 5.4 percent. Early drug/alcohol use increases risk of mental health problems, drug/alcohol dependence, educational underachievement, physical health problems, and social difficulties during later adolescence and early adulthood.
Program Goals — To prevent or delay early use of alcohol and other illegal drugs by Aroostook County teens; to increase favorable teen attitudes about not using alcohol and other illegal drugs; to develop teen drug prevention leaders; and to provide a teen support network for a drug-free lifestyle.
The camp generally has between 55 and 65 teens attend annually and 67 percent of attendees are girls. Families pay $200 for camp, but there are scholarships available for families in need. No one has ever been turned down.
Currently they have a volunteer staff of 32 people, with 27 of them having attended the camp in their teens.
Sara Harbison was one of these and has now moved on to be one of the directors. Some of the follow up includes: monthly outings, five different committees, advisory board, and entry level staff for camp. Each person is required in writing to agree to be drug free, if they are not then they are out of the program for one year, their parents are informed and given resources to assist them becoming drug free. It should be noted that this has not happened. Parents attend the last day of camp. As part of the follow up, they are walked through many of the things that their teens participated in and given a video to take home as well. This is a great opportunity for our teens to become involved and become the leaders that we need for their future and ours. For more information on the Aroostook Teen Leadership Camp visit their website www.atlc-camp.org
