Episode Transcript
[00:00:07] Speaker A: Hey, hey, hey. It's another day and another podcast here from. Just say something. My name is Philip Clark, and I am the executive director here at. Just say something. So I want to welcome everyone to this week's podcast. I'm really, really excited about this week. We have a partner and a friend, which makes a huge difference when you're trying to work with others in the community.
And so today with us, we have Martine Healu from I rise or I rise prevention. I hope I didn't mess that up.
[00:00:44] Speaker B: You did, but it's okay.
[00:00:46] Speaker A: So welcome, welcome.
[00:00:48] Speaker B: We're friends, so that's okay.
[00:00:51] Speaker A: Hey, you got to be friends.
[00:00:52] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:00:53] Speaker A: Especially in this kind of work. So tell us about Martine, and tell us why rise?
[00:00:59] Speaker B: Okay, so Martine Hallelu Allen is my name. I'm the executive director of rise prevention, and I've just got a passion for people. I love people. And if I want to distill it down into the reason why I found it and created rise, it's because I believe that everyone has inherent value and that they all should be given an equal opportunity to be loved, supported, encouraged, motivated, and helped into becoming the best person that he or she can be.
[00:01:31] Speaker A: That's awesome. That's awesome.
That's why we're such good friends. We're right there. We're on the same page. So when did you start? When did you form Rise? Tell us a little bit about that process.
[00:01:45] Speaker B: Okay. So, formerly formally, Rise was established in June of 21. But I was thinking about Rise many, many years before. And really, it kind of the idea and the dream that I had was birthed at Greenville County Sheriff's Office when I was the community relations and correspondence director there. So, in that role, I was tasked with the duty of coming up with community programs. Okay, that addressed different needs that Greenville county had from the perspective and capability of the sheriff's office. So right around that time, about 2016, is when we saw the opioid crisis really start to rear its ugly head in our community. And so my first question after reading a very, very, I would say, blunt obituary, honest obituary, by a mother who had lost her daughter to fentanyl poisoning, I was in tears. And the first question that I asked myself was, what are we doing to stop this from happening to more teens into more families?
And honestly, Phil, you know, I did research. I said, what are we doing boots on the ground to go to these kids, stop addiction before it starts? Nothing. I mean, pretty much nothing. If we want to talk about real drug prevention, where relationships are being established. I mean, yes, there were curricular programs that were in schools, but it was watch a video and answer these questions.
[00:03:09] Speaker A: Or it sat on a shelf.
[00:03:10] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. And so I did not find a lot that was going on. I even called schools to ask them what they were doing. So, you know, and then I just said, we got to change this. And it just became a personal passion of mine and a quest that I went on and did a whole bunch of research and made the first ever partnership between a local law enforcement agency, national law enforcement, namely the FBI and DEA, and a school district, Greenville county schools, and try to do something different. And I started something new, a completely new approach to addressing the drug use crisis among teens. And they loved it. And the pilot went so well. And now here we are.
[00:03:49] Speaker A: Here we are. So tell us about, here we are. From where you were in 21, what's that growth been like? Where, you know, where are you now? Where are you at in your programming? Are you just in Greenville county? Are you outside of Greenville county? Give us your little elevator speech.
[00:04:06] Speaker B: Oh, my, yes. So, June of 2021, we started out with a grant from the Department of Education, and it's the innovation grant that said, we're going to give you this money to test this out. You've done all the work that you need to do. Research wise. You are built on evidence based practices. You've gone through a lot of training through the federal government, which makes us confident in what you're doing. You've also gathered a whole bunch of data as you've been testing this throughout the state. And so I was very grateful for that. So it started out with a little grant, and we served only five schools in our first year of 21. So the 21 22 school year, that next year our program expanded into, like, eight schools. And this year we're serving 14 schools. Next year, we'll be serving 20 schools. So the more that we've been able to get our program into schools, the more that word of mouth has helped us because of administrators who are seeing the difference that we're making with their students, parents who love the program and love what we are able to offer, you know, to them personally, especially in coaching a lot of kids who are self medicating in very destructive ways, just really being committed to those kids and not just having it. Our drug prevention program being based on knowledge. It's not about knowledge. It is about people. It is about relationships and discovering the why behind the what.
[00:05:29] Speaker A: Well, yeah, when back in the day when red ribbon was real big, it was always neighbor by neighbor.
[00:05:36] Speaker B: Right.
[00:05:37] Speaker A: And so it's the people that you touch every day that sometimes we take for granted, but building a community within a community to help keep our kids safe.
[00:05:48] Speaker B: And I forgot to address another question that you asked me as far as counties are concerned. So now we're in five different counties in five different school districts.
[00:05:55] Speaker A: Okay. Wonderful.
[00:05:56] Speaker B: So very exciting. Just love the response that we're getting. And, you know, Phil, I know that, you know, not everybody is gonna automatically go, yes, let's take the I rise program into our schools. You know, a lot of people just want to see how we're doing. But I will say this. For the schools that have decided to have us there and really want us there, our program thrives, and it gives a lot to the kids.
[00:06:16] Speaker A: And so what does. So you're going into a school. Tell me what a typical, if there is one, what a program looks like from y'all's perspective.
[00:06:25] Speaker B: Sure. So the first thing that we do is we get buy in from the staff. If you don't have buy in from the school, it's gonna be really hard for you to do that program, because we need the staff to be excited about us, because they're there all the time. So if they love rise, the kids are gonna love rise in the I rise program. So we orient the staff, then we do things with the parents. I want for the parents to know who we are before going into their children and interacting with their kids. The parents need to know who we are, what we're doing, and the resources that are available to them and resources that are not just available to their children, but. But to them as parents. There are a lot of parents who are struggling, you know, who just. Who haven't had the type of support that we are offering to their kids. They've never had it.
[00:07:06] Speaker A: Right.
[00:07:06] Speaker B: So, a lot of times that that's a great way to build bridges. Then we go in, and we do during the. During a four month period. So we're there for four months. We have a couple of different assemblies, so big group presentations, and we do lunch visits. So we're not taking these kids out of class a lot, because I do believe in education. They've got to have time to learn.
[00:07:25] Speaker A: Right.
[00:07:25] Speaker B: You know, we're just working hand in hand with the school, with the amount of time that's provided. And according to those comprehensive health standards that the school has to fulfill, they choose, I rise, to go in there and do that for them.
[00:07:38] Speaker A: And I can imagine that because I know our programming, that we really get to interact with the kids and see them over a period of time and see that difference.
To me, that's worth more than what money is worth.
[00:07:52] Speaker B: Oh, absolutely.
[00:07:53] Speaker A: Just to see those looks on those faces.
So we were talking about opioids earlier, so I rise prevention. Just say something. Greenville County Sheriff's OFfice and Safe Rx have come together to form the power collective.
And what really sticks out in my mind right now is if anyone ever had any doubt about the dangers of opioids, fentanyl.
All they have to do is look at the news from last week when the child had fentanyl in their system and died, that she got it from her dad.
[00:08:36] Speaker B: Absolutely. And that was right here, right here in our hometown.
[00:08:40] Speaker A: In our hometown. And so I'd be willing to bet there's not anybody out there that does not know of a family situation that was not caused by tobacco, alcohol, opioids. Fentanyl.
[00:08:56] Speaker B: That's correct.
[00:08:57] Speaker A: I mean, it's just, it's mind boggling. But, and to refer back to a little bit earlier, it, all you hear about is treatment, treatment. Well, prevention is a lot more cost effective. You get a bigger roi, and our communities are better. We're never going to treat our way out of this. We have to prevent and educate and raise the awareness. So back to the power collective. Tell me your rise prevention's role within the power collective.
[00:09:34] Speaker B: So I see rise prevention's role kind of working on the front end, which means that, you know, we can treat and we can, you know, put people in rehab, and that's great, and they need to go. But if you're not working on the preventative side, then you're not going to be able to weather that storm for a certain. You get what I'm saying? Like, you've got to be working on both ends of the spectrum.
[00:09:52] Speaker A: Right.
[00:09:52] Speaker B: So for me, rise prevention does that. So we're going ahead and working with youth in middle schools, we're working with youth in high schools to try and make them aware of the dangers. So in the, on the middle school side, it's more about, you know, really, I don't want them to start using anything.
[00:10:06] Speaker A: Right.
[00:10:07] Speaker B: You know, and making them aware of the self medication aspect of drug use and also just destigmatizing. My goodness, this is like you just said, it affects everyone when, if it affects everyone, there's no stigma.
[00:10:20] Speaker A: Right.
[00:10:21] Speaker B: We're all enduring this, and so we should all be very, just willing to talk about it. Why are we embarrassed to talk about it when everybody is being impacted by it? So we're working on the front end with the middle schoolers when it comes to the high school, and we go out and we do our presentations with the sheriff's office. So the middle school is our I rise, but with a sheriff's office, we go into the high schools, and with the NFL alumni association, we all do a presentation together. And that presentation is specifically focused on opioids and fentanyl. Now, I will talk about the gateway drugs, okay. Because these kids have to know that, you know, drugs are not designed to be used recreationally, nor temporarily. They are designed to dominate you and to be used for the rest of your life and to cause a dependence.
[00:11:04] Speaker A: And if there's any doubt of that, just turn your tv on.
[00:11:08] Speaker B: That's great.
[00:11:08] Speaker A: Drug commercial after drug commercial after drug commercial after drug commercial.
[00:11:13] Speaker B: Right. And even. And even just what we. What has been popularized and normal or normalized on social media, there are so many people who have no idea that vaping is not healthy.
[00:11:23] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:11:23] Speaker B: And. And you know what? And I heard something the other day about FDA approval of vape. Somebody was like, um, well, these vapes from China haven't been FDA approved.
Wait a second. So you're telling me that there are vape devices that are FDA approved?
Do you know what I mean? Like. Like, that doesn't even. It boggles my mind. And on top of that, we also had OxyContin that came out of the market that was FDA approved.
So it's like, are we going to go and trust the government? Is that what our barometer is going to be if it's approved or not by the FDA? So I think a lot of kids are saying, well, if it's available, right, then it's harmless.
[00:12:01] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:01] Speaker B: Then I can do it every day. And that is not true.
[00:12:04] Speaker A: Right.
[00:12:05] Speaker B: You know, so a lot of them have no idea. They also have no idea how much fentanyl is lacing other products that they're using.
[00:12:12] Speaker A: It's like russian roulette.
[00:12:14] Speaker B: That's right. Absolutely. And so that's what we like to do. We work on the front end. And also, you know, if there are children that do have substance use issues already early, we like to nip it real quick.
[00:12:24] Speaker A: Right.
[00:12:24] Speaker B: You know, so that it doesn't graduate into an opioid or a fentanyl addiction.
[00:12:29] Speaker A: Right.
[00:12:29] Speaker B: Because the brain learns to acclimate. Right. And all of a sudden, those little amounts of what they're getting, they don't. It's not sufficient. Exactly. It doesn't suffice anymore. So.
[00:12:41] Speaker A: So it used to be. I could eat one slice of pizza. Now I have to have five.
[00:12:45] Speaker B: You know, you're preaching, honey. Preaching your life.
[00:12:49] Speaker A: Yeah. So where do you see rise prevention in five years?
[00:12:54] Speaker B: Statewide, I see rise prevention, the I rise program in almost every middle school that wants us statewide. And that will we. That we will have the budget to do that. So I'm so excited because we have a lot of people that are supporting us now, backing us, but, you know, they had to see the proof in the pudding, honey.
[00:13:13] Speaker A: Right.
[00:13:13] Speaker B: You know what I mean? That you can't. I was always like, oh, why don't people need to be on board? They need to be on board, but they have to see the outcome. They have to see the schools wanting us back year after year. They have to see the fact that there's a correlation between drug prevention and higher academic scores.
[00:13:30] Speaker A: Shut up.
[00:13:30] Speaker B: Less true. I know. Can you believe it? It's like, bam. Oh, my goodness. That is just neuroscience, you know, a rocket science. And it's not, it has a positive effect on all of those areas. Because what we teach in drug prevention is resiliency, positive coping skills, learning how to cultivate great relationships, and that affects everything. And, you know, another thing that you said that I really like is that we need to be doing this. We need to be doing prevention. Not only is it wise financially, but another point is it's our moral obligation. You will never hear me say to a child, well, don't worry about it. If you ever encounter opioids or fentanyl, we'll just cross that bridge when we get to it.
[00:14:12] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:14:13] Speaker B: Because that bridge may not be there. And it's our moral obligation to save these kids from even the risk of that happening. And on top of that, all of the tumult and chaos that they're going to undergo, and they will lose their entire childhood.
We should be fighting to see childhood.
[00:14:31] Speaker A: Sorry. Tough as it is.
[00:14:33] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:14:34] Speaker A: And we could go on and on about this. So if a parent is out there listening or teachers out there listening, saying, oh, how do I get I rise in my school?
[00:14:46] Speaker B: Sure. So they can go to rise prevention.org. R I Z e, rise prevention.org. Or you can just email rise team riseprevention.org. Dot.
[00:14:55] Speaker A: Oh, well, that's easy enough.
[00:14:56] Speaker B: It's easy enough. And for parents, if you get you, if you have a teen that's maybe struggling or preteen that's struggling, please do reach out to us. We will respond. And we have an intake form that we will send them a link to fill out we'll get to know a little bit more about them, about the issue that they're facing, and we will help them. There's help out there, and there's no need to be embarrassed. If you love your kids, you. You'll be all right with reaching out. Yeah, totally. Fine.
[00:15:21] Speaker A: So do you use volunteers?
[00:15:23] Speaker B: We do. We do. So we use volunteers to help us with some administrative stuff. So, like, when we do our pledge days and we're stuffing the reward envelopes, that's thousands of envelopes. So we can always use that. We would love to have people that are passionate as parents about prevention invite us to come and host a community presentation, you know, either in your home, in your clubhouse, at the library, wherever you want to do it. We'll be more than happy to do that. And just if you could volunteer, too, by helping spread our word on social media.
[00:15:52] Speaker A: Right.
[00:15:53] Speaker B: A lot of people have no idea that's volunteering, too. Volunteering your time and your social media feed, you know, a little bit to us and donating that to us.
[00:16:02] Speaker A: And so where can they find you on social media? Are you on Facebook? Instagram?
[00:16:06] Speaker B: Facebook? Instagram. TikTok?
[00:16:09] Speaker A: Under rise prevention.
[00:16:09] Speaker B: Under rise prevention.
[00:16:10] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:16:11] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:16:11] Speaker A: So before we. We end this.
[00:16:15] Speaker B: Oh, let's not end it. This is my time.
[00:16:17] Speaker A: Yeah.
Is there one other thing that you want our listeners to know about you or your programs?
[00:16:30] Speaker B: I would, and thanks for a lot for asking me that.
No matter what anybody's going through, no matter how much you believe that a challenge is insurmountable, what rise prevention has been built on and what we do through and through, every facet of our work is built on the belief of two in a two word phrase. And that is love wins.
Love wins every single time. We see it in every kid that we coach, the families that we help, the people who come in to us saying, thank you so much for being here, the transformations that we've seen, even non clinical, doesn't necessarily be therapy. It's loving people into a place where they can then love themselves.
And love certainly wins every time.
[00:17:25] Speaker A: You just gave me chill bumps, but thank you for that. I really appreciate that. Um, well, I'm sorry, but we have to end our time today.
[00:17:35] Speaker B: Shoot.
[00:17:35] Speaker A: I really, really appreciate you spending some time with me. Um, I appreciate your partnership. I appreciate your friendship.
[00:17:43] Speaker B: Likewise.
[00:17:44] Speaker A: And we'll definitely have you back in another time. And so thank you for joining us for another week at just say something in our weekly podcast. So look out for every Tuesday, we release a new one for you to listen and just know that we are all here for a resource for our families. And if you need anything, just let us know. You can find us at just say somethingsc.org. Or you can give us a call at 864-467-4099 again, this is Philip Clark would just say something, and I look forward to seeing you soon. Thanks.
