The Greater Gresham Area Prevention Partnership (GGAPP) acts to identify, coordinate and implement strategies that promote the reduction of substance abuse among youth by building a safe and healthy community for the residents and families of East Multnomah County, Oregon.
East County students share their reasons for staying drug-free.
Adriana GodinezWhy I Choose to be Drug Free"I want to go to college, major in nursing, and make something good out of my life. My friends weren’t so lucky. Most of them have been in legal trouble and through drug treatment already. I’m not perfect by any means, but I’ve seen enough throughout my life to know that I’ve made the right choice for myself. Drugs just aren’t for me." Click here to read Adriana's complete essay. |
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Nathan ClarkWhy I Choose to be Drug Free"I want to have a good future. I want to grow up and get a job doing what I love. With drugs, I can’t obtain that." Click here to read Nathan's complete essay. |
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Shellie AdamsDrugs and Alcohol: A Gruesome Duo"I want to grow old, see the world, and watch my family grow and change. Life is short and a once in a lifetime experience. Are drugs and alcohol really great enough to sacrifice your one shot at life for?" Click here to read Shellie's complete essay. |
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Samantha LillardChoices"Doing drugs is one of the most final and crippling choices a person can make. There are so many opportunities out there that you can reach if you just choose not to take drugs. Going to college is so important to my future that I’m not willing to risk gambling my life away on something that will only make me happy for a few minutes. And that’s why I make the choice to stay drug and alcohol free." Click here to read Samantha's complete essay. |
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Megan CrandallMy Choice to Stay Drug Free"Curiosity is an easy way to fall into drugs. Trying drugs just once because I’m interested never came across my mind. If I’m interested in how a drug can affect me, I read a textbook. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it won’t kill me." Click here to read Megan's complete essay. |
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Blake EricksonWhy I Choose to be Drug Free"Drugs can temporarily take you away from your problems, but will soon lead to even bigger ones." Click here to read Blake's complete essay. |
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Cristian FloresMy Choice, My Willpower"My choice to keep drug free isn’t because of all the teachers telling me that drugs are bad, or my parents telling me not to fail them. My choice to keep drug free is a choice I made within. A choice I made to keep myself going in the track I want to go. I could never see myself walk away from what I’ve tried so hard to be." Click here to read Cristian's complete essay. |
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Kayla HickmonWhy I Choose to be Drug Free"High school is supposed to be the best years of a person’s life, and to me drugs don’t bring out the best in things. Many Teens use drugs. My question is why? Drugs aren’t safe, fun, attractive, and most importantly worth it. So why do drugs? I ask myself these questions all the time because I have seen so many situations that have involved drugs, and none of the situations were good." Click here to read Kayla's complete essay. |
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Brianda NunezMy Choice to Stay Off Drugs"Eventually, drugs will mess up the function or form of your cells, kill, for example brain cells, or you know, grow spontaneously and form cancer. If I were you, I wouldn’t do that: it’s like you have a car and you choose to put sugar in your gas tank. Not only does it not make sense, but it brings you problems that aren’t worth the weed." Click here to read Brianda's complete essay. |
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Help us out and get involved by taking one of our community surveys.
In partnership with the local school districts we are working together to create a drug free community future. Data and information from this survey will be used to assist in the development of a parent empowerment program – thank you for your participation!
While adolescents aged 12 to 17 accounted for only 8 percent of admissions to substance abuse treatment in 2006, they represented 48 percent of all admissions reporting inhalants. (The DASIS Report 2008).