Juvenile drug prevention is a key component to the Russian Federation's overall attempt to combat drug trafficking, distribution, and use. The answer, in many cases, is education and awareness. The Drug Enforcement and Prevention Program for Siberian Youth (DEPSY) complements and builds on Project Harmony's 2000-2002 Juvenile Drug Enforcement and Prevention Initiative (JDEP) DEPSY's community coalition approach and in-school curriculum will prove, as they have for JDEP in Petrozavodsk, to be critical pieces in providing Siberian communities with the skills and information necessary to help youth make positive life decisions.

Through the in-school drug prevention and awareness curriculum already developed during JDEP, Siberian communities will have the tools to help youth make good decisions related to drugs, smoking, sex, violence, and crime. DEPSY will help create greater awareness of crime and drug prevention through education, develop local and regional coalitions to address youth development issues as a broad-based community problem, and take the established curriculum deeper into the Siberian regions.

Program Activities

DEPSY consists of a nine-month, four-phase exchange of Russian and American educators, law-enforcement professionals, government administrators, NGO leaders, and social service providers. Both the Russian and American sides have valuable skills and experience to share, and this ECA-funded program will help facilitate this important exchange.

A total of 90 Russians and 10 Americans will directly benefit as participants of DEPSY. An estimated 250 individuals from Siberian communities will interact and will also benefit from the Russia-based phases of the program. An estimated 75 individuals from Vermont communities will benefit during the phase of the program in the US.

During DEPSY, Project Harmony will facilitate the development of relationships among Siberian professionals, institutions, and communities and between Americans and Siberians committed to giving youth the tools they need to make healthy life decisions.

Relationships among participants will benefit both communities through the sharing of information and the exchange of ideas on such issues as juvenile drug and crime prevention, HIV/AIDS awareness, juvenile violence, teen pregnancy, truancy, and others. Both Russian and American participants will gain a new perspective on how their counterparts handle similar personal and professional challenges, and they will learn new approaches and strategies that can be applied in their communities. By facilitating effective goal-setting and action-planning activities, Project Harmony will enable Russian participants to learn new and innovative methods of solving problems and to enhance their professional skills.