| Introduce topic by describing activity name, content standard, and objectives. Start the session by asking the participants the following questions: -What would you do if you lost your job? -What would you do if you lost your family? There are people who have lost everything because of alcohol. Do you know anyone like that? Add that however, there are people who have endured this problem by changing habits. Have you heard one of these life-changing experiences? Ask the participants if they know of someone and they want to share experiences of people who had economic, social or family problems due to alcohol. Inform participants that we will read an article about the experience of Valerie, a woman who had to deal with a life or death situation. Make two teams and give each participant a copy of Valerie's Story of Alcohol Liver Disease. Organize them, assigning each team a section as follows: -Team 1: 'Valerie's Story' and 'Seven Months in Hospice'. -Team 2: From 'Only 10% of Liver Working' to 'There Is Life Without Alcohol' Ask participants to read the section of the article they were assigned to and give them some time to discuss it within their small groups. Ask the participants the following questions: -Did Valerie caused her serious condition? How? -Do you think she regretted having lived a life of excess at the time she was vomiting blood? What are the commonalities among substance abusers and Valerie? Inform the participants that according to writer Amie Taylor, "...to resist the temptation to smoke and drink, it is essential to have a desire to stop smoking or drinking. Then you need to replace your previous behaviors with new ones that do not involve the use of these substances." What is she saying? As a final activity, ask the participants to assist you develop a list of specific steps to take in case someone wants to stop consuming harmful substances. |