News you can use
News you can use
Red Ribbon Week is the nation’s oldest and largest drug-prevention awareness campaign, raising awareness of drug prevention to millions each year. This year, the event is being celebrated the week of October 23-31, 2021. Red Ribbon Week is an ideal way for communities to unite and take a visible stand against drugs. The theme of this year’s Red Ribbon Week is “Drug Free Looks Like Me!”
According the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Red Ribbon became a symbol for drug prevention in 1985, in response to the murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena who in 1985 was brutally murdered by drug traffickers he was investigating in Mexico. After his death, people started wearing red ribbons to honor Kiki’s sacrifice. Informed Families started the first countywide Red Ribbon campaign in 1986. In 1988, NFP sponsored the first National Red Ribbon Week celebration. Today, the Red Ribbon serves as a catalyst to mobilize communities to educate youth regarding the harms and consequences of drug use, promote a drug-free lifestyle, and encourage the community to participate in drug prevention activities. Since 1988, the Red Ribbon campaign has reached millions of U.S. children and families. The mission of the Red Ribbon Campaign is to present a unified and visible commitment towards the creation of a Drug-Free America.
The HELP Committee and Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line celebrates Red Ribbon Week in partnership with the local schools and community annually. This year, activities include a tobacco-free assembly, an art contest, a radio contest, a Family Night, and visits by McGruff the Crime Dog to local schools. Support is provided by sponsorship from a large number of local businesses and organizations.
The goal of Red Ribbon Week includes but is not limited to the following:
• Red Ribbon Week is an environmental strategy, which means it does not just affect a small group but usually goes beyond schools, churches, and other groups into the broader community.
• Red Ribbon Week is designed to be an awareness campaign that gets information to the general public about the dangers of drug use.
• Red Ribbon Week is designed to get people talking to other people and working on activities that will help rebuild a sense of community and common purpose.
• Red Ribbon Week is designed to help parents and schools deliver an effective drug prevention curriculum.
• Red Ribbon Week is designed to create critical mass, which is necessary to reduce destructive social norms/behaviors and promote positive social norms/behaviors.
• Red Ribbon Week is designed to be positive and fun, two things necessary to maintain good mental health.
Parents can benefit from resources available at http://www.redribbonweek.org. The website offers many great ideas about talking to children of any age about the dangers of substance use. The DEA suggests that parents who talk to their children and teens regularly about drugs are 42 percent less likely to use drugs than those who do not; however, only 25 percent of teens report having these conversations.
Alcohol, tobacco and nicotine, and other forms of drug use have reached epidemic stages in our state. It is imperative that visible, unified prevention education efforts by community members regularly practiced to counter and reduce drug use and the dangerous and costly effects it has on communities.
Please join the HELP Committee and Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line during Red Ribbon Week as we promote the importance of prevention and educating our children, families, and communities about the dangers of substance use. For more information about Red Ribbon Week contact Randi Gabrielsen, Prevention Specialist, HELP Committee, by calling 406-265-6206 or by emailing [email protected].
Havre Public Schools and the HELP Committee and Boys & Girls Club of the Hi-Line are committed to promoting safe and healthy lifestyles to become long-lived, responsible citizens. For more information on this or related topics, contact the HELP Committee at 265-6206.
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