cada The Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse for Greater New Orleans |
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Ropes Challenge Course The Louisiana National Guard Drug Demand Reduction Program's Ropes Challenge Course has recently received media attention from newspapers in the Greater New Orleans area. The course is offered to a variety of groups such as middle and high schools, J.R.O.T.C., Boy Scouts, Young Marines, mentorship programs, church youth groups, and many other community groups dedicated to improving the quality of life for young people in Louisiana. The Ropes Challenge Course is a one-day event filled with challenges, setbacks, failures, and successes-such as life would present. Participants are placed in difficult scenarios with perceived danger and asked to complete group tasks to overcome obstacles. Trained facilitators that use teachable moments to emphasize important life skills supervise the experience. Once the participants complete an obstacle, after many failed attempts in some cases, they verbally process their feelings and thoughts. This is where most of the learning takes place. The experience of the course demonstrates how young people can gain valuable life and work skills by working together in a challenging environment. "The whole morning you have to build up trust in other people," said a high school teacher who recently took her class to the course. One of her students noted, "The ones that, like, are quiet in class became leaders." Another student said, "It was good that everybody worked together and nobody has a bad attitude." The Ropes Challenge Course continues to be one of the key tools the Louisiana National Guard uses to help develop strong and confident young people and help reduce the demand for drugs. Over 140 young people participated in Ropes Course events in October and November of last year. If you would like more information about Louisiana's Ropes Challenge Course Program, constant SSG Melissa Vosburg at 504-840-1363. You can also reach her by e-mail at ALLPETZ@aol.com or CLICK HERE
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