Safe & Sober Grant
By: Priscilla Mace
Updated: January 11, 2013
JOPLIN, MO---The program began nine years ago to encourage teens to stay sober during prom and graduation time. Mercy helps operate the organization, reaching 35 schools in southwest Missouri. Now MODOT has stepped in, donating $130,000 to expand the system to 150 schools this year. "We know this works over time, it's been effective on the lcoal level and statewdie I know we can change outcomes from our youth," says Safe and Sober Founder Kurt Larson. "We know that if we can prolong that first drink we can save brain function, but we can prevent them from becoming addicitve at an early age," says Mark Peck with Mercy Hosptial Joplin. Safe and Sober allows schools to customize their own program, with everything from assemblies to docudramas depicing a car crash.
