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PREP programs

 




Discovering Options is a St. Louis based agency. Our clients are St. Louis public school students living with risk factors for drug abuse. Our mission is to expand the options these students have, and to help them avoid drug use and other self-destructive behavior.

We currently offer two substance abuse prevention programs: Elementary PREP and Middle School PREP. PREP stands for Promoting Responsibility through Education and Preparation. Both programs use a proven substance abuse prevention curriculum, increase positive social skills, teach conflict resolution skills, and provide enriching after-school programming. In addition, both programs provide access to a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and other positive, nurturing adult role models.

PREP for Elementary Schools serves at-risk fourth and fifth graders three days a week for 9 weeks. A Licensed Clinical Social Worker teaches LifeSkills, a research-based, substance abuse prevention curriculum. For more information on LifeSkills, click here. In addition to LifeSkills, our students take yoga and cultural cooking classes, and complete conflict resolution activities. Students who successfully complete the after-school program are matched with a mentor. Mentors spend a minimum of one hour each week for twenty weeks with their proteges.

PREP for Middle Schools serves at-risk sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. The after-school program meets once a week for 14 weeks. The core curriculum is Project Alert which is designed to "prevent adolescents from beginning to use drugs, and to prevent those who have already experimented from becoming regular users." 

For more information on Project Alert, click here. Students also choose either hip hop dance or art, which culminate respectively in a recital and art show. Both classes engage students in positive social activities and build skills in a supportive environment over the 14 weeks of the program. Funding for this program was provided by the Missouri Foundation for Health, a philanthropic organization that improves the health of the people in the communities it serves.