About Us

We are South Georgia Starz Academy

For the last nine years, the South Georgia Starz Academy INC. (SGSA), a community based nonprofit 501c3, has operated with a mission to provide comprehensive services that restore, promote substance abuse prevention,  heal and rebuild the lives of children and families in Georgia, specifically those located in Southwest GA. The South Georgia Starz Academy INC has diligently pursued a vision that children and their support systems will be best served by competent, caring professionals who provide extensive services based on strength-based, family-focused, and community-based principles.  

 

South Georgia Starz Academy Staff has over 20 years of prevention experience; as a family preservation project coordinator for five years as a DBHDD APP, 2011-2016. Afterward, becoming a provider for the DBHDD ASAPP grant from October/2017 to 2021. Currently providers for the DBHDD PIPP grant in Clay and Randolph Counties.     The agency has developed, created, and used End of Year Reports, Strategic Plan, Implementation Plan, and Evaluation Plan. The staff at SGSA is also trained in Too Good for Drugs and Positive Social Norms Models, Michael Haines. We have also created and developed Positive Norms messaging and conducted numerous focus groups.  Our organization is affectionally known for providing a safe and dedicated place for at-risk adolescents to attend after-school and on weekends.  

Click on titles below to learn about our programs.

Substance Abuse Awareness Campaign in Dougherty County

SGSA addresses the goal, Alcohol – Early onset alcohol use among youth ages 9-20. The community embraced the Substance Abuse Awareness campaign; they are actively engaged in developing, creating, and disseminating Positive Social Norms materials.

Afterschool Program

SGSA is a recipient of the BOOST  program. We will operate comprehensive out-of-school time (OST) programming year-round, over the summer months, or after school during the academic year. The goal is to provide evidence-based afterschool and summer enrichment programming that supports students in learning skills and concepts and offers whole child support, thus removing non-academic barriers for students most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click here to download the Afterschool Program Application

The SAFE Home program

The Safe Home program will protect youth safety by educating the parents about the impact of adolescents’ alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. This program will encourage parents to openly communicate about parenting concerns, deal with the issues of poor parenting monitoring,  healthy communication about alcohol, and cultural availability.

Social Skills Group

SGSA offers counseling services, substance abuse prevention groups,  fitness activities, and boxing lessons.  We have Licensed Professional counselors trained in providing Trauma, Too Good for Drugs, and Anger Management counseling groups.  

Partners in Prevention Project

The Partners in Prevention Project   (PIPP) is the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Office of Behavioral Health Prevention and Federal Grants (DBHDD-OBHPFG) substance abuse prevention initiative for the state.  The 5-year implementation of this project will be done using SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF).

Randolph County

Clay County

Ask, Advise, And Refer

SGSA is implementing the strategy of Asking, Advising the benefits of quitting, and Referring. Ask patients about their current and past smoking patterns. Then Advising the patient to quit should be done in a clear, strong, and personalized manner. Urge every tobacco user to quit. Expect ambivalence. Be willing to listen non-judgmentally to their concerns about quitting tobacco use. Refer them to resources that can help them quit.   

The Sources of Strength

The Sources of Strength secondary program has an effect on the individual and environmental levels. Sources of Strength secondary works at the individual level in the pre-training phase with the individual recruitment of Peer Leaders and Adult Advisors, in the meeting phase with individual sharing, prompt as the team builds a community of strength, and in the messaging campaign with Peer Leaders, Adult Advisors, and staff members engaging with protective factors directly (everyone naming a Trusted Adult, sharing what helps them in managing big emotions, etc). Sources of Strength works at the environmental level as Peer Leaders and Adult Advisors carry out positive messaging campaigns that work at the universal level to create positive social change and increase protective factors. This can be done with wall displays, announcements, classroom presentations, and other large-scale activities.