Lindsey Wilson University students in Mahalia Cain’s human services and counseling classes got the opportunity to study substance abuse from a different perspective last Thursday.
Students in Cain’s “Substance Abuse” and “Abnormal Psychology” classes met with Columbia-Adair County law enforcement officials to learn how the departments deal with people who are suspected to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
To better illustrate the topic, members of the Columbia Police Department brought the department’s Substance Abuse Education trailer to campus, which gave students additional insight into issues law-enforcement officers often face.
This is the second year Cain has arranged to have her students interact with officials from the Columbia Police Department and Adair County Sheriff’s Office.
“It is important for the students to see not only the counseling side of substance abuse but the criminal justice side of it as well,” said Cain, who is an instructor in the Lindsey Wilson School of Professional Counseling. “I also want them to see why it’s important for both sides to work together as a team, because as a team we can get the best results for individuals who need help with drug and alcohol abuse.”
Columbia Police Sgt. Trevor Foster, who helped conduct the exercise with Adair County Sheriff’s Deputy Hunter Tweedy, said that interacting with the Lindsey Wilson students was valuable for numerous reasons.
“About 90% of our job is building good community relations, and this was a good way to do that.” said Foster. “We enjoy having a strong relationship with Lindsey Wilson University.”
Cain said the event has become “one of my favorite things that I do with students during the semester, and the students also love it when the (police and sheriff’s) department come to campus.”
“It’s important for the students to feel comfortable with the police department, and this exercise helps do that by humanizing the police department for them,” she said. “It also gives students an opportunity to ask about topics that are outside of my area of experience, which strengthens their learning as well.”
By Duane Bonifer
LWU
