Governor Justice welcomes third set of schools added to WV GameChanger, a student substance misuse prevention program

WEST VIRGINIA (WOAY) – Governor Jim Justice met with school officials from Wheeling Park High School and Clay-Battelle Middle and High School Monday morning for a new program that’s about to sweep the state.

WV GameChanger is a cutting-edge, student-powered Opioid and Substance Misuse Prevention Program. The Ohio and Monongalia County Schools now make the third set of schools in the state to join the program.

“Without any question whatsoever, West Virginia has been ravaged by this drug situation off the chart, and if we don’t get you right, we don’t got a pray, we don’t got a chance,” Governor Justice says.

In February, Governor Justice announced the initiation of the program to Greenbrier East and West High Schools.

Similar to Monday’s initiation, he had joined state and local school officials, and the Executive Director of the program, Joe Boczek for the announcement.

Boczek says the program teaches students more than just saying no to drugs but why they should say no. It’s doing this by harnessing real-life skills that are known to be effective mechanisms for drug use prevention in children and teens.

“Together we’re going to do a lot of good here in West Virginia, and many years from now when you go back and think about this day I think that you’re going to see that you have a lot of people here that care about you and knows you have a lot of challenges but wants to give you every tool there is out there to meet those challenges,” says Boczek.

Resulting in a service agreement made between WV GameChanger and the world-renowned Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, the program is the first of its kind.

It will now become part of the curriculum at both Wheeling Park and Clay-Batelle schools this fall.

The program will eventually make its way to all West Virginia public schools by the Fall of 2027.

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