Important information was provided at Howell self-defense seminar

We were happy to see the women’s self-defense course highlighted (in the Tri-Town News). The program, which included the Howell Community Alliance for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Abuse with coordinator Ralph M. Hoffman Jr., is important for all women.

Mr. Hoffman, a retired police officer, provided the portion of the program that did not include "close quarter combat." Mr. Hoffman educated women on the more prevalent and scary ways an "attacker" might make their "move" through the use of "designer drugs," Rohypnol (roofies) and GHB (a central nervous system depressant that produces a euphoric, drunken-like state and can kill someone or put them into a coma within 15 minutes).

Using information and handouts from the DEA, Mr. Hoffman helped the participants become more aware that rapists are using this "new weapon" to overpower their victims. This colorless, odorless and probably tasteless drug dissolves quickly.

These drugs, when slipped into an unattended drink, make the victims unable to protect themselves, no matter what close-combat moves they have mastered. The best defense is the clear knowledge of how to avoid becoming a victim. And these victims are predominately young women who are at a party, a club or a social event. They are with people they know and consequently are trusting and not on guard.

Through the alliance presentation, we need to sensitize and educate that this can happen. And if it does happen, Mr. Hoffman went on to assist women in knowing what to do.

The Howell Community Alliance for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Abuse is committed to helping educate the entire community. All women need to know – never leave a drink unattended.

We hope to continue our co-sponsorship with the Chamber of Commerce and the Howell PBA to make the women of Howell more aware and safer.

Holli Toline

Director of Human Services

Howell