Fatal Vision educates Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana members on inebriation

Imagine challenging hundreds of young people to consider the long-range effects of drinking or taking drugs. Now imagine offering them hard proof that what they believed about intoxication isn’t necessarily true. Picture giving them a hands-on chance to prove what is true.

That’s just what Orlando A. Drummond, Senior Director of Program Quality and Development for the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Northwest Indiana, has been doing since 2016. He believes impactful programming, real conversations, engineered exposure to real-life scenarios, mentoring and follow-up with tools like the Fatal Vision THC Impairment Activity Mat, Fatal Vision Impairment Goggles, and Fatal Vision® Polydrug [Alcohol & THC] Goggles can—and do—change lives for the better.

“Mentoring youth and teens is of paramount importance,” Drummond explained. “It’s critical to offer skill-building programs and windows of opportunities for growth. I’ve seen lives transformed through the Clubs.”

He first came to Indiana from Chicago thirteen years ago to help with a mentorship program that began with a federal grant. From program coordinator he became its director.

“Unfortunately, the use of alcohol, cannabis, prescription drugs, and heroin continues to be higher for youth residing in our area,” he said. “We teach members the ‘whys’ and ‘impacts’ of drug and alcohol abuse.”

Drummond approaches his outreach in a three-pronged way: Too Good for Drugs and Violence prevention education programming, mentorship engagement, and annual SAFE Summer Kick-off Abstention Event. The programs take place at ten physical sites during the school year in NW Indiana’s Lake and Porter Counties. By zeroing in on helping members see the truth about violence, drugs, and alcohol, Drummond and the Club staff help them learn to reach beyond what’s in front of them to set long-term life goals and make healthy decisions.

While looking for ways to enhance his programs, Drummond perused the Innocorp website. He was impressed by the practicality and effectiveness of what he saw there. “I wanted to use [the products] to maximize the impact of our programs,” he said.

The Boys & Girls Club offerings are divided into two “cohorts” of programs for members aged seven to sixteen: fall and winter/spring. Even with that, he learned that some members had trepidation about starting summer without the Too Good programming. To meet members’ needs and ensure they were prepared and reminded of the impacts of drugs and alcohol, he created and developed the SAFE Summer Kick-Off Abstention Event. He described it as an abstention and education one-day event that takes place in June. Not only is he able to reach regular members of the Boys & Girls Club, but he also reaches those who are summer-only members.

“This kick-off is a tangible way to just say ‘no’ to the use of drugs and alcohol,” he said.

Members are bussed to a central site that has two gyms for the day’s activities. In keeping with summer fun, a DJ keeps the event lively and engaging, members enter with music playing, and Chick-Fil-A® is catered. Drummond sets up ten “stations” in each gym for members to visit and participate in. One of the stations is Smok’n & Rid’n that uses Innocorp’s THC Impairment Goggles and Activity Mat. Before each student participates, the steering wheel and goggles are sanitized. Students try to drive across the mat without crashing, hurting anyone, or driving off the road. The Buzzed Cups station also begins with sanitizing balls and cups after each use. Students attempt to toss balls into buckets while wearing the goggles. A third station is called Danger in Every Step/Winding Sidewalks Mat. Students don sanitized goggles and attempt to navigate the mat’s sidewalk without falling, along the way picking up items placed on the mat by staff.

How do students react? “The members get very serious and focused [when using the Fatal Vision Goggles],” Drummond said. “They work hard to function but can’t. Then they have an ‘aha!’ moment.”

Not only do the members begin to understand what intoxication actually does to their own ability to maneuver, but Drummond said they gain insight into family members, community members, and even parents and other adults who use drugs or alcohol. It’s sobering for them to realize just how impaired the intoxicated adults in their lives really are. Members often go home excited to share their new-found truths about intoxication with parents and family. The activities help them connect the dots.

The Buzzed Cups station is particularly challenging. Students attempt to stack the cups in groups of three, first without the goggles and then with them.

“It changes members’ realization of what inebriation does,” Drummond said. “They encourage others to try the station. It blows them away.”

The kick-off day also attracts Club partners and grant funders, who love to come and volunteer to man the stations. “The Innocorp products always impress adult visitors,” Drummond explained.

He knows the products have an impact by student and visitor reactions and enthusiasm. The program uses surveys and self-reporting of members and staff to gauge their effectiveness.

Drummond believes the contribution made by Innocorp products has been extremely valuable. “It’s a great way to easily reach hundreds of youth and teens,” he stated. “These are quality resources and materials. They’re spot-on and work. I share their effectiveness and impact with everyone who will listen. Often staff say that I should be in a commercial for Innocorp!”

Note from Orlando Drummond –Sr. Director, Program Quality & Development Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana: Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana provides diverse after-school and summer activities to meet all youth’s interests and needs and promote academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In 2024, we served 8,000 youths in ten Clubs throughout Lake and Porter counties, including Cedar Lake, Chesterton, Hammond, East Chicago, Gary, Lake Station, Merrillville, Portage, South Haven, and Valparaiso. Our organization also operates eleven Kidstop sites in three school systems. Kidstop is a before- and after-school childcare program based within a school environment. https://bgcgreaternwi.org/