Litchfield Prevention Council hopes to increase role in community | News
3 min readLITCHFIELD — The Litchfield Prevention Council is hoping to increase its membership and role in the community.
Internet safety, substance abuse prevention and engaging in healthy habits are some topics that the council, an all-volunteer organization founded in 1986, strives to promote.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the LPC met in person at St. Anthony of Padua Chuch, 49 South St. in Litchfield. Currently, they meet virtually the second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. The next meeting is Feb. 9. A link can be found on the council website at litchfieldprevention.org.
The LPC is part of the town of Litchfield. It receives a yearly $5,000 stipend from the town. It also receives several grants.
Projects and activities council members have participated over the years include Project Purple, a community-wide program celebrating individuals who are substance free; and family game night at the Litchfield Community Center.
Additionally, the council has hosted several speakers, including former NBA player Chris Herren, who gave a presentation on substance misuse. Another was psychologist and comedian Scott Driscoll, a retired municipal police officer, who spoke about Internet safety.
On another occasion, author Matt Bellace spoke to the LPC about living a healthy lifestyle. When Litfchfield high school seniors graduated in 2020, the LPC gave each of them a copy of Bellace’s book, “A Better High: Laugh, help, run, love … and other ways to get naturally high!”
“His whole focus is on how a student can get high naturally — through athletics, music, and social interactions,” said Gary Waugh, a former teacher and acting chairperson of the LPC. Other LPC members include a principal, social worker, psychologist, and community activist.
The LPC has many plans in the works for the coming months. This spring, members hope to offer a presentation on the dangers of vaping. Education on opioid addiction is also on the list for a future meeting.
In addition, the council is working with the Litchfield Board of Education on student-use survey, which will be given out soon to students in grades 6 to 12 in the Litchfield school system.
“It will give us information on use patterns for vaping, drinking, and marijuana — so we can target our programs based on what we learn from the survey,” Waugh said.
He added he hopes to resume family game nights, which were canceled due to the pandemic.
“They usually bringing in about 10 or 15 families,” he said. “There is a variety of games, prizes and pizza.”
LPC members are planning to invite town leaders to attend meetings and talk to members, according to Waugh.
“We’re trying to have different sectors of the community join us, such as the Board of Ed chairman, a former state trooper, and the first selectman,” Waugh said.
One of the goals of the council going forward is to become involved with the entire community, in addition to focusing exclusively on schools.
“We’re trying to expand from where we’ve been — which has largely been focused on school-related activities — to do more community-related activities,” he said.
In that regard, the council is planning to work with the community center to help sponsor meals for those in need. “People will come and pick them up in the parking lot, and we’ll be part of the funding and the distribution of that meal,” Waugh said.
