County Anti-Drug Web pages get new look

LIHU‘E — One of the projects tackled by a county summer intern was to refresh a number of the Anti-Drug pages on the county’s Web site, a news release states.

Kristen Miyasaki, a sophomore at Linfield College in Oregon who is home for the summer, spent part of her time creating a new section on the home page of the Anti-Drug web pages and updating the Adolescent Continuum of Care Matrix.

The new section contains links to current information on activities and events sponsored by the Anti-Drug Office, such as an online survey, photos of the recent Speed and Quickness clinics and the Kaua‘i Community Drug Response Plan.

The Adolescent Continuum of Care Matrix offers comprehensive information on all the services that are available for adolescents on Kaua‘i.

Theresa Koki, anti-drug coordinator, is very pleased with Miyasaki’s contributions to the Anti-Drug Program.

“Kristen’s strong organizational skills really enhanced the Anti-Drug program, and she did a great job on our web pages,” said Koki.

“Working for the County has been a good learning experience,” said Miyasaki, adding that she will probably apply for an internship with the County next summer.

Finding out about the extent of illegal drug-use on Kaua‘i was a real eye-opener for Miyasaki.

She said, “I didn’t realize that there is such a big drug problem here. At the same time, though, I don’t think there should be a sense of hopelessness because there are also a lot of resources available on the island.”

Miyasaki, who is a psychology major, is particularly interested in abnormal psychology.

“I want to find out why people have mental diseases and then, I want to try to help them,” said Miyasaki.

Eventually, she plans to return to her island home on a permanent basis and help Kaua‘i residents, but her short-term goals include getting a doctorate in psychology and doing some traveling.