Drug House Odyssey returns to civic center
It is one of the most important lessons a fifth-grader can learn, and every year the Lee Civic Center has hosted it with dozens of schools and organizations taking part.
It is the Drug House Odyssey, presented by the Lee County Coalition for a Drug-Free Southwest Florida, and this year it will take place Tuesday through Thursday, Feb. 7 through 9, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The goal every year is to encourage kids to make smart choices.
Since 1994, Drug House Odyssey, a 40-minute walk-through play, has been used as a means to discuss the importance of teens making good choices about alcohol and drugs. More than 1,000 Lee County elementary school fifth-graders are expected to make the trip.
“It’s fantastic to see how Lee County has responded every year. This is a traditional drunk-driving prevention program,” said Deborah Comella, of the Lee County Coalition for a Drug-Free Southwest Florida. “It’s a discussion point for the fifth-graders.”
The play describes the deadly consequences of drinking and driving. It begins with a party scene and follows a group of friends (played by area high school students) through a drunk driving arrest, a courtroom, an accident and the emergency room, a scene that was added last year.
Actual Cape Coral police officers, North Fort Myers firefighters, Lee County EMS personnel and even a pair of attorneys will take part, with Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies following along to describe each scene.
On Wednesday, Feb. 8, there will be a family night from 5 to 7 p.m. that will be free of charge with no reservations needed. Families, scout and youth groups and prevention advocates are invited to tour the Drug House Odyssey play.
“It’s a time where parents, groups and prevention advocates can attend and make this part of a discussion on making good choices,” Comella said. “It shows what a commitment Lee County has for drug prevention.”
Comella said the event has had a profound impact on thousands of area youths, from the time it was done for eighth-graders in Cape Coral to today, where fifth-graders are learning as a result of the end of the DARE program.
“I run into people all the time who did this. I remember one person said to me that someone told her that if she had a felony she couldn’t become a teacher,” Comella said. “She was really careful and now she’s a teacher of fifth graders who come.”
Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Hanley Center, SalusCare and Street Chicks in Recovery are other agencies which participate.