New SADD chapter to form in Williamsburg

A new coalition is being established between multiple organizations in hopes to help make students in Williamsburg at all grade levels more successful in making smart choices for themselves and others.

A meeting was held Thursday morning at Williamsburg Independent School, where school officials met with representatives from Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), the Williamsburg Police Department and Whitley County Health Department as part of an initiation phase to implement a SADD chapter in Williamsburg.

SADD, which began in the early ‘80s as Students Against Driving Drunk, has since broadened its scope to more than just driving-related behaviors. While the group still champions traffic and mobility safety habits, they now also incorporate other areas, such as healthy relationships, mental health, substance use and abuse, etc.

Working primarily as a youth-led peer prevention system, SADD helps provide students with the proper tools to effectively navigate these areas and to be able to help one another and lead by example.

According to their website, SADD empowers and mobilizes students and adult allies to engage in positive change through leadership and smart decision-making. That is done by “creating, equipping, and sustaining a network of student-run chapters in schools and communities focused on peer-to-peer education.”

Following the meeting Thursday morning, the representatives also met with University of the Cumberlands students and faculty later that day in hopes to try and implement a larger, more effective system of learning and accountability.

Carol Lucio, state coordinator for SADD, said that being able to get the university on board will both be helpful for those students, but also provide another level of aid since the college students could then work directly with the high school.

From there, many of the organization’s teachings can trickle down from older students to the younger ones.

“We actually have a resource where the high school students will work with the middle school and elementary school on seatbelt use and distractions,” said Lucio. “So, it’s multi-level, multi-faceted.”

“This is a model for the state. This is what we want to see happening all across the state,” said Lucio.

More meetings are expected to be held in the near future.

For more information on SADD, visit their website at www.sadd.org.