By Lisa Carolin
The Chelsea School District is working with St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea on reducing and eliminating substance abuse through a program called Project Success (Schools Using Coordinated Community Efforts to Strengthen Students).
Project Success places trained counselors in schools to provide substance use prevention and early intervention services.
Michaela Buckhannon has been the Project Success counselor since October of 2017 and works at both Chelsea High School and Beach Middle School. She is a masters-prepared social worker working on the completion of her Prevention Specialist Certificate.
Buckhannon receives referrals from teachers, administrators, community members, parents and students. Referrals range from a student worried about a friend who is vaping, to a parent worried about her daughter smoking pot and how it’s affecting her behavior.
“One of the most common ways I receive referrals is through administrators,” said Buckhannon. “When a student has been caught at school, whether in possession or under the influence of alcohol, tobacco, nicotine, marijuana or other drugs, then there is both a punitive and restorative approach. The punitive approach is often dictated by the student handbook to include a certain number of days for in-school or out-of-school suspension. But schools also seek to help students by partnering with St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea’s Project Success program. If the student needs extra support to manage their feelings, symptoms or use, the school gives them that opportunity.”
Project Success connects students with services and resources that can help.
According to research from the Michigan Profile for Heath and Youth and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, it is often around the age of 13 that teens first experiment with drugs.
“Substance use at 13 (years old) means a student is likely in the eighth grade,” said Buckhannon. “That is why so many evidence-based substance prevention models seek to work with students prior to the eighth grade. Project Success works with youth ages 12-18 so that we can begin a conversation prior to when youth might first experiment with alcohol or other drugs.”
Students at Chelsea High School and Beach Middle School have had the opportunity to participate in the Prevention Education Series provided by Project Success. This year’s program covered vaping, including addiction, how to say no, and how to get help. Buckhannon focused the lessons on seventh, eighth and ninth-graders.
“We seek to build a relationship between the students and a Project Success counselor through in-classroom prevention education so that they feel comfortable speaking with an adult,” she said. “We have found that with exposure to our program and our staff, students more often seek out help for substance abuse, whether it be for a friend, parent, sibling or themselves.”
Anyone interested in learning more can contact Buckhannon at 734-548-5077 or at [email protected].
