News File Photo An Alpena County Sheriff's Office patch appears on the shoulder of a deputy in this November 2021 News File Photo.

The Alpena Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) Program will now be called “Together For Youth”, sponsored by the Alpena Police Department and the Alpena County Sheriff’s Office, to benefit local youth in continued education and community outreach activities, according to a press release from the Alpena DARE program.

For some time now, the Alpena DARE Program Board has been working with Alpena Public Schools to get this much-needed program back into schools. To keep up with current events and our changing times, the Alpena DARE Program is transitioning to the Teaching, Educating, and Mentoring (TEAM) concept. This training focuses primarily on a proactive effort to make schools and communities safer and promote responsible citizenship and positive character traits among students in grades K-12. Michigan State Police Community Service Trooper Jason Kunath is a trained TEAM instructor and has already been a vital resource in bringing this program to Thunder Bay Junior High School and Alpena High School. With the assistance of Kunath, Alpena Police Chief Eric Hamp and Alpena County Sheriff Erik Smith have trained officers now in place to once again go into the schools and teach these valuable lessons to all levels.

For many years, Wolverine Productions has been a positive force in fundraising for the Alpena DARE Program by hosting the Detroit Lions Basketball Game each spring. Local law enforcement and DARE Program Board President Terry King are asking the citizens and organizations of Alpena County to continue supporting DARE under their new name to benefit local youth. Those who have and continue to support this program may also do so by sending their donations to the Alpena Police Department, attention Together For Youth.