Prevention for Every Community

Reality Tour is a community-based drug prevention system designed as a single event to engage parents with their children. It is also a vehicle that networks community resources to enhance prevention on multi-levels, drilling down into the community. Held on evenings or weekends so parents WILL attend, this system puts parent and child on the same page and meets the expressed needs of parents. A needs assessment of parents in 2002 revealed a desire for prevention programs to include the possible, ultimate consequences of experimentation. Reality Tour addresses the consequences without using ‘scare tactics’ as documented by our University of Pittsburgh researcher.

Reality Tour is delivered in 3 parts:
1. The Consequences

• Narrated scenes of life
• Emotional learning for lasting recall
• Appropriate for youth ages 10-17 with a parent

2. The Coping Skills

• Recognize 1st signs of use
• Personal goals for drug prevention developed
• Refusal skills engagement
• Home prevention launch materials
• Enduring impact on teen brain

3. The Interviews

• Law officer relates local trends
• Youth in recovery de-glamourizes use

You can register for Reality Tour by going to our locations page. Reality Tour is replicated in several states. Find the Tour nearest you, download and mail the registration form with payment to the address listed, or register online if available.

The approach to volunteers will be different this time! Easily expand your pool of resources using our Community 12 Sector Guide. Develop a list of stakeholders in 10 min There is a huge buy-in for the Reality Tour concept because of the engaging common sense design with volunteer roles people can immediately adopt. Use our Needs/Value Assessment tool and you will be able to determine level of readiness immediately after a stakeholder meeting.

Review the matching tools provided for your new volunteer approach:

1) Easily share the basics of Reality Tour: CONCEPT & DESIGN
2) Community 12 Sector Guide helps discover stakeholders in 10 min. GUIDE
3) Volunteers are energized by having a role to play now. VOLUNTEER ROLES
4) Survey to assess readiness after meeting. NEEDS/VALUE ASSESSMENT

Reality Tour has retained volunteers for a decade or more! Every person knows they are an integral part of a team on a mission. After each program, you will share the survey comments from parents and youth that shows just how much their volunteer time matters.

Read more about how to engage volunteers

Learn about the volunteer roles 

Let me tell you about Celeste. She was working as an RN and heard about Reality Tour. She asked to speak about it at a Rotary Meeting, and they immediately sponsored the purchase. The program was introduced to the community and volunteers stepped forward. The school gave students credit in health class for attending the program.. Over 1,000 parents and their children have been served.

Vince, a longtime civic leader, heard about Reality Tour at a dinner. Within the next two weeks, he’d reached out to community stakeholders and set up the initial meeting to discuss the program. Vince was a ‘catalyst’. He took the initial step and stakeholders took the remaining steps. Reality Tour still endures 15 years later.

The cost to license the program model is an affordable $3,500 with an annual renewal fee of $500. CANDLE, Inc. can help you partner with other community organizations to help raise money for the license.

Agencies who want to develop Reality Tour as a project often have a need to cover staffing or incorporate prevention as part of a larger mission. Reality Tour has been built into federal Drugfree Communities grants and proven sustainability. Foundation grants have also been awarded in some instances. Contact us to request a sample grant template.

In the Q & A session, representatives from the recovery community are interviewed and have the opportunity to ‘give back’, which is a key part of moving on to a healthy life. The original Reality Tour in Butler, PA works with George Jr. Republic’s youth in recovery. Their students earn the right to come off campus to participate.

Here’s what Hunter, a teen in recovery, had to say about his role, “What you do at Reality Tour is life-changing. I was there to help you, but what you need to know is how much it helped me."

Reality Tour has the best attendance when it is made available in evenings or on weekends during the school year. Smaller communities may serve 25-30 at a session. More populated areas will serve up to 100 at one presentation. The number of presentations is based on population. Rural communities may host 2-3x per year, while more populous areas host 9x or more per year.

Yes, pre-registration is required. This helps volunteers prepare in advance. Some locations charge $5 per person to attend, others may waive the fee. The fee is always waived for families on free or reduced lunch programs. To register visit our location page.

School partnerships create a renewable audience. Schools can decide which grade levels they most want to attend the program. For example, a large school chose 6th grade as their grade of emphasis. Homerooms were ‘assigned’ to each of the upcoming dates for Reality Tour. During the year, teachers reminded their students that ‘their date’ was coming up and urged them to have their parents register. Older siblings were also welcomed at the program as was the general public.

Your Reality Tour license is valid for 1 year. There is an annual license renewal fee of $500.

The Reality Tour license is for one location only. If you require an additional location for your community, another license must be purchased at the one-time $3,500 fee. Some exceptions may apply. Contact us to inquire.

If you have questions about the Reality Tour Program Model purchase or want to connect with the developer during your stakeholder meeting, Developer Norma Norris is available for a Zoom meeting by request. Fill out the request form.