A local coalition continued spreading information about the dangers of drugs to young people during a Lexington County event this week, extending a program that has been in place for more than a decade.

The Lexington/Richland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council, better known as LRADAC, hosted its Youth Leadership Summit with Lexington One Community Coalition (LOCC) students Feb. 6 and 7.

These LOCC clubs are led by students and have been located in every Lexington County School District 1 middle and high school for 15 years. According to Ashley Bodiford, LRADAC’s director of prevention, the purpose of these clubs is to allow students to craft messages and create the norms of their school regarding substance use and mental health awareness.

The clubs typically have between eight and 25 members and have a designated advisor, who is a school staff member that provides resources and helps the students identify meeting times and stay focused.

“To create that understanding around youth substance use, not everyone is doing it and not everyone has to do it,” Bodiford said about what the clubs accomplish. “There are other ways to entertain your time and do healthy things in your school setting and also in your community setting.”

The summit brings together all the clubs from all the schools, with middle schools attending the first day and high schools attending the second day. All together, Bodiford said this year’s event had about 200 students.

It was the first summit to take place in person since the COVID-19 pandemic.

At this year's summit, the students participated in team-building exercises and listened to a comprehensive presentation from FBI Agent Brandon Lackey on alcohol, tobacco and drug safety, resiliency skills, and being strong leaders in the community.

“It’s a nice opportunity for them to get out of their normal day and still be very productive and working towards identifying what they want to accomplish as their club and what they are hoping to see as outcomes,” Bodiford said.

LRADAC is one of 33 drug abuse authorities in South Carolina and provides prevention, intervention, and treatment services along with recovery help to individuals in the county who need it. Bodiford told the Chronicle that the nonprofit tailors its programs to meet the changing needs of the community and the people they serve.

If a resident needs help, they can go to LRADAC for a walk-in assessment, where they will be provided information on treatment services. If they want to continue with these services, they complete a comprehensive assessment with a clinical counselor. The counselor proceeds to work with the individual to identify the best care plan.

“Everyone’s individual walk into recovery is very unique and individualized,” Bodiford said “LRADAC is prepared to be responsive to that and develop a plan of care that best suits needs specific to them”

Bodiford told the Chronicle that LRADAC helped over 5,000 people in 2022.

A majority of funding for the nonprofit comes from the state Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, and it also relies on federal grants and contracts along with some revenue from program fees.

“We are looking at taking a proactive approach to fighting addiction and drug misuse in our schools and our businesses and our community,” Bodiford said.