LCAHY educated the public about National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month during Bluffton Police Department’s National Night Out event.
LCAHY board members talked about safe disposal of prescription drugs, LCAHY’s new drop box site, and provided a fact card with questions to ask one’s doctor if prescribed an opioid drug. Meanwhile, LCAHY’s youth coalition, Teens for Healthy Youth (THY), face painting children to provide an opportunity for a local pharmacist and THY members to talk to parents about keeping prescription medication out of the hands of youth. Youth passed out information to parents and grandparents that encouraged families to plan to properly store and dispose of their medications.
A positive outcome of the event was that the mayor asked LCAHY to speak about the opioid crisis and to provide an opioid fact card that could be given out during an upcoming town meeting. Also, a local police officer took the resources provided to distribute on calls related to opioid issues. The event also created a greater awareness of THY and LCAHY and allowed for networking with other organizations laying the ground work for future collaborations within the community.