The Daily Auburn
CHARLTON, Mass. – Since the beginning of the school year Worcester County Sheriff Lew Evangelidis has been on a mission presenting his Face2Face drug and alcohol prevention and education program twice a week to middle school and high school students from across the region.
The sheriff has already met with over 10,000 school kids from every corner of Worcester County.
On Wednesday he paid a very special visit to Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School to have a Face2Face meeting with over 500 students in the 9th and 10th grades to discuss the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.
The Face2Face program is an ongoing part of the Sheriff’s Substance Abuse Prevention and Education Initiative for Worcester County Schools. The Sheriff’s Face2Face system uses cutting edge technology and special computer software to simulate the shocking effects substance abuse can have on a person’s appearance over time. Students at Bay Path Regional High School were able to see firsthand the potential devastating impact drug use can have on their very own classmates.
“As sheriff I am honored to visit with over 500 students from Bay Path Regional High School today and to receive the local endorsement of the school’s S.A.D.D. Chapter for the Face2Face Program. Especially with the high school prom season upon us, today’s presentation is an important opportunity to discuss the enormous dangers and serious consequences of drug and alcohol use with our youth. Both the S.A.D.D. (Students Against Destructive Decisions) advisers and the student members at Bay Path High School have done a tremendous job in bringing awareness to the very serious issue of underage drinking and substance abuse with our teens.”
Evangelidis continued, “With almost 90 percent of the inmates today at the Worcester County House of Correction addicted to drugs or alcohol, I have focused on education and prevention as the best way to keep our youth from starting on that direct path to prison. As the only sheriff in the country presenting this program, it is extremely important for me to personally bring the Face2Face message to every middle school and high school throughout Worcester County.”
“We would like to thank Sheriff Evangelidis for coming to Bay Path Regional High School today to present the Face2Face drug and alcohol prevention program to over 500 of our students. The Sheriff’s Face2Face message was extremely effective and sent a powerful message to our teens about the dangers and serious consequences of drug and alcohol use, the feedback from both our faculty and student’s has been tremendous. Today, the Bay Path Regional High School Chapter of S.A.D.D. enthusiastically endorses the Face2Face program created by Sheriff Evangelidis and commends him for his tireless dedication to our students with his Face2Face message. We are very fortunate in Worcester County to have a Sheriff who is so proactive in discussing the serious issue of drug and alcohol use with our youth, we look forward to having him back to Bay Path every year with the Face2Face program,” Bay Path Regional High School S.A.D.D. Advisor Paula Clark said.
The Face2Face Program was donated by individuals and businesses who are dedicated to the County’s youth.
In the past few months Sheriff Evangelidis has personally presented Face2Face to middle and high School students in Worcester, Auburn, Leominster, Clinton, Leicester, Spencer, Southbridge, Millbury, Gardner, Grafton, Charlton, Oxford, Athol, North Brookfield, Holden, Paxton, Northbridge and Sutton.
“Face2Face is an effective and innovative drug prevention program designed to make students think twice before making that bad choice to begin drug and alcohol use,” Evangelidis said.
