Editor’s Note: This is one of a series of columns to be shared with Mount Airy News readers by the Surry County Substance Abuse Recovery Office.
Last week, Oct. 23 to Oct. 31, was nationally celebrated as “Red Ribbon Week.” Red Ribbon Week is sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and is now the largest alcohol, tobacco, and drug prevention effort in the United States. The Surry County Office of Substance Abuse Recovery (SCOSAR) partnered with the Mount Airy Rotary Club, Surry County Schools, the Surry County Sheriff’s Office, and the DEA to provide substance use prevention to community members, specifically our youth.
For a short time, our community came together to put into practice an evidence-based substance use prevention program for our residents. The following are just a few of the benefits gained from implementing a long-term substance use prevention program:
• Substance use prevention increases public safety, as a decrease in substance use has a direct influence on the reduction in criminal activity.
• Substance use prevention lowers healthcare costs, as substance use disorder (SUD) accounts for more than $120 billion a year in U.S. healthcare costs. This expenditure exceeds the healthcare costs of diabetes, obesity, and even smoking.
• Substance use prevention increases workforce productivity and improves the relationship between employers and employees. Decreased substance use decreases absenteeism, increases efficiency, improves decision making and enhances morale.
An important trend, evident in many effective prevention strategies and programs, is the close coordination between law enforcement, treatment providers, and prevention professionals. These partnerships are vital to the success of communities struggling to abate the impacts of substance use. Prevention, treatment, and enforcement initiatives have a greater impact with well-developed interagency collaboration. These collaborations are vital to providing a responsive and supportive continuum of care – prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery programs – that intervene at all stages of an individual’s life and in all community environments, especially in the schools.
Many of our community’s agencies worked together during Red Ribbon Week events to provide a fun and informative experience for students. The Mount Airy Rotary was the catalyst to success as they provided volunteers and funding for the purchase of promotional material. Supervisory Special Agent Dirk Ballou, who oversees the DEA Greensboro Resident Office, spoke to students at Pilot Mountain Middle School and Surry Central High School.
The DEA also provided thousands of bracelets, stickers, pencils, and pens. Detectives from the Surry County Sheriff’s Office Street Crimes Unit spoke to middle school and high school students and K-9 “Chu Cho” demonstrated his detection prowess. The SCOSAR coordinated with the schools and members of the “All-Star Prevention Group” volunteered to work in the schools. Congratulations to everyone for a successful week of substance use prevention. If we as a community treated every week like Red Ribbon Week the result would be a measurable reduction in the impact of substance use on our County.
If you, or someone you know, could benefit from learning more about substance use prevention and our planned activities, contact Charlotte Reeves, Surry County Office of Substance Abuse Recovery Community Outreach Coordinator, at reevesc@co.surry.nc.us. Visit our website at surrycountycares.com for more information about substance use disorder and the resources available in our County.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com