Service offers chemical class in Spanish

The first Spanish language chemical education class recently was held at Pathfinder Support Services in Fremont, a first for the area.

Prior to the first class with an interpreter on Dec. 9, Spanish-speaking people were forced to watch videotapes for the three- or eight-hour class, said Ermyl Leazenby, a certified drug and alcohol counselor at the agency.

“What everyone uses is the videotapes,” she said. “The tapes don’t go into the effects of alcohol and drugs on the body. They dealt more with values and beliefs.”

Chemical education classes are required as part of probation for drunken driving. They can also be ordered as part of outpatient treatment.

She said teaching the class with an interpreter is much better than the videotapes because people learn more when they can talk about their own issues.

“That way we get a lot more good information and more interaction as well,” Leazenby said. “We go through all the effects alcohol has on the body, social use, individual beliefs about alcohol, society’s beliefs and legal issues. We explain how people go from social use to abuse to dependency.”

With the interpreter, Hispanic classes are more similar to English classes where people are asked questions and respond to issues.

“They get a good understanding of why we don’t want you to drink and drive,” Leazenby said. “They talk about people they’ve seen and realize the problems.”

The effects of other drugs are explained as well.

“If we want a society that does not drink and drive or drive under the influence of drugs, we need to explain why they shouldn’t,” Leazenby said. “My goal is to provide the same level of care for the Hispanic population as the English population.”

Hispanic chemical education classes are offered on the second Saturday of every month at Pathfinder Support Services, 658 N. H St. The three-hour class costs $90 and the eight hour class costs $150. They are a bit more expensive than the $60 and $120 English classes because of the added expense of an interpreter.

“The feedback we got from the first class was great, we were really amazed,” Leazenby said. “They started communicating with us and each other.”

For more information, contact Pathfinder Support Services at 721-1414.