SIDNE Trainings a Success in Putnam County!

Putnam County is an area that has open spaces where teens can congregate, houses set far apart that make partying hard to detect, and parents who commute and work long hours. So it’s no surprise that the county has issues with DUI’s and underage drinking. In fact, the 2012 Prevention Needs Assessment Survey revealed that over 61 percent of high school seniors had consumed alcohol in the last 30 days. The Putnam County Communities That Care (CTC) Coalition was formed to do something about it, and it chose Innocorp, Ltd. and Fatal Vision® as a partner. Approximately 500 students from Brewster, Carmel and Mahopac High Schools complete the training each summer.

Deputy Sheriff Richard Mansfield saw the Innocorp products—particularly SIDNE®—at a conference, and came home with an enthusiastic description of what they could do for Putnam County.

“Several organizations collaborated and donated funds in order to buy these products,” explains Joseph DeMarzo, Co-Chairperson of the Putnam County CTC Coalition. “The products are interactive and we felt that this type of hands-on activity would really hit home for individuals and groups taking part in the activities. It also fit into the mandated program we have for incoming senior high students.”

Students learn the lessons in ways that convince them. The Distract-A-Match® shows them how easy it is to get distracted when driving. SIDNE® convinces them just how quickly they can lose control of a vehicle while impaired. The Fatal Vision® goggles give them firsthand experience of how scary it is to be under the influence.

This mandated program requires that new seniors experience SIDNE® and other Fatal Vision® prevention tools in order to get on-site school parking privileges. The Putnam County CTC Coalition created Team SIDNE® to offer this program. The team is made up of the director of the Putnam County Mental Health/Youth Bureau Joseph DeMarzo, the Putnam executive director of the National Council on Alcoholism and Other Drug Dependencies, Kristin McConnell, the executive director of the Putnam County Youth Bureau, Janeen Cunningham, and Elaine Santos who is the Coalition Coordinator. They join with educators from Putnam County Reality Check, Putnam Family and Community Services, school resource officers from the Sheriff’s Department, Putnam County Probation, Putnam County MADD, and volunteers from PARC. Donations from the Traffic Safety Board and STOP DWI also make the initiative a success. The team does a simulated field sobriety checkpoint, SIDNE® demonstrations, and Distract-A-Match® five times each summer in three-hour training sessions at each of the three large school districts in the county.

The team does a simulated field sobriety checkpoint, SIDNE® demonstrations, and Distract-A-Match® five times each summer in three-hour training sessions at each of the three large school districts in the county.

Members of the Putnam County CTC Coalition are available if you have any questions or would like for us to do a presentation to your organization on this or any other substance abuse trends that affect our children  Please visit and join us on Facebook by searching “Putnam County Communities That Care – NY” or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/PutnamCTCNY or call 845-225-4646.