Burnet rallies in support of Join the Journey
Burnet Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Keith McBurnett describes the role of Join the Journey in addressing the drug problem plaguing the Burnet community during a kickoff of the program May 15. The superintendent urges residents, organizations and businesses to support the program even if it meant simply signing a resolution. A local mother, Janet Christiansen, initiated the program last summer in response to losing her son to a drug overdose in 2011. For more on Join the Journey, go to www.btxjourney.net. Staff photo by Daniel Clifton
DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR
BURNET — With Burnet students and staff as well as local officials surrounding her, Janet Christiansen shared the goal of Join the Journey during its kickoff May 15 at the Burnet Community Center.
“Today along with your support we will Join the Journey and attack the problem head on with determination and dedications,” she told those gathered at the community center. “The message is simple, this community cares about its citizens. Don’t do drugs. It’s a deadly choice. If you’re using drugs or know somebody who is, there is help and hope, don’t give up. If you’re providing drugs to our citizens, you’ll be caught and prosecuted.”
Christiansen has a very personal connection with the dangers of drug use. In December 2011, her 21-year-old son Caleb Christiansen died due to a drug overdose from methadone provided to him by another man.
Following his death, Christiansen admitted she struggled. But she couldn’t let her son’s death be in vain.
Last summer, she began reaching out to school and community leaders about Burnet’s drug issue. The result was Join the Journey, which encourages people, organizations and businesses to take a pledge not just to avoid drugs but to watch out for the entire community.
Several hundred people packed the community center for the official kickoff. Despite wishing she could take back what happened to her son, Christiansen said the response to Join the Journey has been strong, evident by attendance.
“But this is just the launch about the awareness,” she said. “The next step is when we get into the meat of the issues starting with identifying treatment resources.”
Burnet Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Keith McBurnett, who co-chairs Join the Journey with Christiansen, said the work has only begun.
“Today is not the end of the journey, just the beginning,” he said.
McBurnett described Join the Journey as a coordinated effort by the entire community.
“This is not just a school district initiative,” he said. “Rather, it’s an initiative of the entire community.”
The key, officials said, was to get as many people, organizations and businesses to get involved. One way to start is to sign either the individual or organization resolution supporting the Journey and pledging to “Be honest and open about the problems caused by drugs and alcohol; create a culture of complete intolerance for abuse within the community.”
The idea, McBurnett said was “to create a network of people all pulling in the same direction.”
The superintendent said Join the Journey wasn’t about creating a new program, but helping community members identify the resources available to them when confronting the drug issue, whether it be prevention, treatment or both.
“(We’re doing this) so no family has to experience the loss of a loved one,” McBurnett said at the start of the Join the Journey kickoff. “We have to come together as a community.”
To learn more about Join the Journey or take the pledge, go to www.btxjourney.net.
daniel@thepicayune.com