River Cities Business Journal: Education

Special to the River Cities Business Journal

BULLHEAD CITY - Carol Smith-Carter is bringing years of media and non-profit service experience to Mohave County for a new drug education and prevention program.

Smith-Carter is a community health educator with the County Department of Health.

“This new program, which began operation about a month ago, is a collaboration of BHHS Legacy Foundation, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and our Department of Health Services, specifically MCTUPP (Mohave County Tobacco Use Prevention Program),” she said. “MCTUPP Coordinator Susan Williams decided to expand her tobacco program with drug education and prevention. These substances, along with self-esteem problems, are all related, and are fought by educating people of all ages to make good decisions in life.

“Our tobacco-prevention program is funded by the tobacco tax,” she said. “This new drug awareness and education program was made possible by a grant from the BHHS Legacy Foundation.”

Smith-Carter said the collaboration with Partnership for a Drug-Free America is “excellent. The materials are professional. The Partnership is a national organization. I will be the point person for the Arizona chapter in Mohave County.

Awareness and recruitment are the first priorities

“My first focus is to develop community awareness on the impacts of drug use,” she said. “I am presently recruiting doctors for our Healthcare Partnership program. In addition to physicians, we will offer professional training to school nurses and other interested medical professionals. Healthcare personnel are an important component in communicating the health dangers of substance abuse to both teens and parents.

“We are always recruiting and working with the media,” Smith-Carter said. “The partnership's radio, newspaper and television spots are nationally recognized drug awareness campaigns. I will also begin innovative efforts to bring drug education and awareness to parents. Parents need to know the signs and forms of substance abuse. They should talk with their children and teens about drug abuse.”

Smith-Carter pointed out that methamphetamine is a big problem, but so are prescription drugs and other products.

Methamphetamine is only part of the problem

“The trend right now for teens is abuse of over-the-counter and prescription drugs,” she said, “as well as inhaling, or huffing, products. Today's parents are overwhelmed. They aren't sure what they should be looking for. They need to check their own medicine cabinets to make sure their children aren't taking those drugs. Prescription drugs can kill someone as easy as heroin. All drugs can be equally destructive.”

Smith-Carter, who was a worksite coordinator for county tobacco education and prevention, may offer worksite presentations.

“I hope to reach parents at the workplace,” she said. “The partnership calls this their ‘Lunch 'n' Learn' program.”

Smith-Carter was born in Chicago but moved to the Arcadia, Pasadena area of California.

“I went to Pasadena City College when I was young,” she said. “Then I went to California State University, Los Angeles, where I earned a Bachelor of Art degree in journalism with a minor in political science.

“I started a direct mailer in the area and the Pasadena Star hired me in 1982 to, basically, get me out of competition. I worked on the first-ever TMC (Total Market Coverage) publishing products. I then became part of the start-up staff of the Pasadena Weekly, but, as I wanted to raise my children in a healthier environment, I moved to the mountains at Big Bear Lake, Calif., and became ad director for the Grizzly (newspaper).

“While in the mountains, I developed my Mother's Camp enterprise,” Smith-Carter said. “It was an exclusive getaway for moms only. I did all my own promotions. We were on Good Morning America and other national news programs.”

Smith-Carter took a few years off in the late 1990s to freelance and spend more time with her children. She moved to Lake Havasu City to be close to other family members.

Second career meant

finding ways to help others

“When I decided to go back to work, I wanted to be involved with non-profit organizations,” she said. “My media background paid off there. I'm very comfortable dealing with the media. I went to work for Western Arizona Health Education Center. I was the program coordinator for Well Woman HealthCheck, a federally funded breast and cervical cancer early detection program under the Centers for Disease Control, which I implemented in Mohave and La Paz counties.”

In 2004, Smith-Carter brought her non-profit experience to Mohave County's Tobacco Education and Prevention Program.

“The new Drug Education and Prevention Program will be based in Bullhead City,” she said. “I have been on the go in all three cities lately while we develop our first site in Bullhead. As time goes on, we will be applying for grants to expand into Kingman and Havasu. For right now, I want people who care to contact me. We really need volunteers to assist with this program. We're looking for medical personnel, members of the media, educators and parents who are, or want to be, involved in the communities.”

For more information, call Smith-Carter at (928) 758-0722, ext. 2036.