By Douglass Huxley, The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Local officials, school administrators and students from Parkersburg High School and Van Devender Middle School packed into the Memorial Fieldhouse Monday as Gov. Jim Justice visited to celebrate PHS, Van Devender Middle School, and Jefferson Elementary Center being pilot schools for the WV GameChanger program.
The student-powered, substance misuse prevention movement connects West Virginia students and the educators through a coordinated, comprehensive prevention education program. Justice serves as the head coach of the program.
“What GameChangers is doing is absolutely God’s work in many, many ways,” Justice said. “And that’s really how I feel about it. I’m really honored to be their head coach. And I’m gonna try to continue to do anything and everything I can to help the kids.”
GameChangers is a student peer-led program that pairs students with paid coaches assigned to each school who work with school counselors, teachers and the Prevention Team at Hazelden Betty Ford to educate and counsel students and to provide resources for those facing or at risk of addiction.
PHS Principal Kenny DeMoss said at one point last year he had 14 students visit his office in a week with 13 of them saying they were affected by the drug epidemic in some way.
“It highly impacts almost every family in some particular way,” DeMoss said.
