Renee, a drug addict who lost her kids, is featured in a new educational DVD for Surrey students.
As a dealer, Andrew had no use for goods or merchandise in exchange for drugs. Just money.
“It’s all about money,” he says of the ruthless drug trade. “They don’t care if you’re somebody’s son or daughter and have parents that love you...”
Young Aaron currently lives in a tent. He used to reside in South Surrey and had a promising future before he started smoking pot and skipping school. Now he struggles with crystal meth addiction and can’t stay clean long enough to secure a permanent place to live.
Renee called 911 on herself when she started doing drugs alone with her kids in the house. She hoped the authorities would throw her in jail. Instead they took her kids away.
“I’ve been killing myself ever since,” she says, wiping the tears from her scab-covered cheeks.
Aaron Hall didn’t live to tell his story. He was so drunk when he stole cigarettes from a convenience store that he ran right in front of a van. He was just 16.
These vignettes are part of a new hard-hitting DVD being used to deliver substance use prevention messages in schools. Developed by the Surrey School District in association with Surrey RCMP and National Crime Prevention Centre, The Gateway - From Small Beginnings to Addiction was officially screened Monday at Bell Performing Arts Centre, but is already being shown to Grade 7-9 classes locally and is receiving kudos from police officers across B.C.
“It was really quite touching to see how many people really opened their hearts for us to get an accurate picture,” said Theresa Campbell, Surrey’s safe schools manager, noting local student Natasha Courtney, 14, was going to participate, but passed away at the beginning of the film shoot. Her mother is included in the video.
The DVD is the first of its kind in Canada to include a learning resource guide so educators can lead further student discussion about topics such as the impact of substance use on society or emergency personnel.
Also screened Monday was Closing the Gateway, a DVD strictly for moms and dads made available to parents at every school.
