Traffic crashes, many of which involve alcohol and other drugs, are a leading cause of death and serious injury for youth 15 to 19 years of age. Communities around the state are often faced with these tragedies, and many Texas high schools are turning to Shattered Dreams, a youth–led community collaborative program, to prevent more fatalities.
Shattered Dreams is an educational experience that reminds us all of the dangers associated with drinking and driving. It reminds us that too many young lives have already been lost and countless others severely impaired because of the tragic consequences of underage drinking and drinking combined with driving. Shattered Dreams is about drinking and driving. It’s about living and dying. Our communities cannot afford to ignore the devastating impact that underage drinking causes.
The Shattered Dreams program involves the dramatization of an alcohol-related crash on or near a high school campus. The scene unfolds with a complement of police, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, funeral hearses, court hearings, family notifications and the arrest and booking of a drunk driver. Throughout the day the other elements of the docudrama unfold. To give students a better understanding of the number of DUI-related deaths, an individual dressed as the “Grim Reaper” appears periodically throughout the school day to select a new victim. The victims are taken out of class, made-up in white faces and dressed in black t-shirts to symbolize death, and then returned to their classrooms to continue their day. By the end of the day, every student has one or more “dead” classmates present in the classroom with him, and on this note the school day ends.
Ben Taub General Hospital, part of the Harris Health System, treats many of the area’s crash victims as the city’s busiest emergency center at its Ginni and Richard Mithoff Trauma Center. The hospital also plays an integral part in the day-long activities of Shattered Dreams. Approximately 40 students spend the night at Ben Taub as the drama continues there. The students witness accident victims arriving and see them in the Shock Rooms.
[gdlr_space height=”20px”]
The next morning a wrap-up assembly is held featuring those who played roles in the previous day’s drama, including the “crash” victims, the drunk driver, their parents, and participating law enforcement and medical personnel. Impact statements from community members whose lives have been affected by teenage alcohol use and drunk driving bring closure to the program and reinforce its dual message for the teenage audience — Don’t drink until you are 21, and never drink and drive.
[gdlr_space height=”20px”]
In 2011, 98 individuals under the age of 21 died in alcohol related crashes in Texas. Mothers Against Drunk Driving declared Harris County the drunk driving capital of Texas in their 2013 fact sheet. The objective of the program is to empower families and communities by depicting a series of life changing experiences in order to prevent underage drinking and impaired driving.
[gdlr_space height=”20px”]
Since its inception in 2006, the Shattered Dreams program has reached more than 30,000 juniors and seniors at area high schools. In addition, Shattered Dreams’ films have been shown at Juvenile Probation Cups Units, churches and health fairs to thousands of other teenagers and adults.
[gdlr_space height=”20px”]
-TABC, Education/Prevention Programs, Shattered Dreams, TABC.State.TX.us/education/
