Natural Helpers training for Paw Paw students

Eight students from Paw Paw High school and two students from Berkeley Springs High School participated in a training on December 13, 2006 to restart the Natural Helpers Program at Paw Paw High School. Amanda Carder, Sarah Fisher, Sara Hoff, Brittany Kerns, Brittany Kidwell, Lindsay Kidwell, and Trish King from Paw Paw and J.D. Smalley and Ashley Potter, two current helpers at Berkeley Springs, worked through team-building exercises and activities that support the listening skill and the helping skill. In Natural Helpers, a national program that uses peers working with peers, students are selected by their fellow students to participate in trainings and workshops.

Through the trainings, the Natural Helpers become students on campus to whom other students can turn to for help in dealing with many teen issues. The Helpers are given information about resources available to help with problems, whether academic or social, and are educated about solutions for problems that can include drug abuse, relationships, and conflicts. Dianne Batt, community development specialist for Substance and Alcohol Prevention for the Eastern Panhandle, and Julia Haines, the specialist for Upper Highlands, were the trainers.