Carson City’s D.A.R.E. Program Continues Amid COVID-19

Carson City’s D.A.R.E. program, an anti-drug cooperative effort between the Carson City Sheriff’s Office and the Carson City School District, remains active but has been through a difficult time due to COVID-19 and the retirement of longtime officer Lisa Davis.

Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong said Tuesday that the D.A.R.E. program is beholden to the Sheriff’s Office School Resource Officer program and is being coordinated through officers, the school district, with Deputy Gage Mead serving as lead person.

“Like a lot of things, COVID shut us down but we never went away, and we will still carry the great attributes of D.A.R.E. to students that we’ve done before,” said Furlong.

The challenge is getting the D.A.R.E. curriculum directly to students, many who are learning from home and who are not in the classroom. Carson City’s D.A.R.E. program is among the longest surviving and active programs in Nevada.

“D.A.R.E. is not gone. We’ve been challenged because of COVID. It’s an important program for the youth in this community and it’s important that the community invests in the program as it always has in the past,” said Furlong.

Representatives from Nevada’s D.A.R.E. program, led by Emmy Lizares and Yetunde Raimi, will be at the front entrance of Sportsman’s Warehouse at the Carson Mall in Carson City from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. this week. They are available to answer questions and accept donations for the program.

From Carson Now