Drug-Free Tennessee Reminds Youth to Stay Healthy this Holiday Season

Drug-Free Tennessee recently participated in community events to remind young people to be safe and healthy by distributing the Truth About Drugs booklets.

Drug-Free Tennessee is committed to making neighborhoods drug and crime-free. So it was that volunteers joined community partners, neighbors and police for local neighborhood health fairs and community events recently to remind kids to make good choices.

The final week of October is Red Ribbon Week. “Red Ribbon Week is the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in the country,” according to imdrugfree.com. This is the best time to educate young people and help prevent drug abuse. The Red Ribbon Campaign was started to commemorate DEA agent Kiki Camarena, who died in the line of duty in 1985. This began the continuing tradition of displaying red ribbons as a symbol of intolerance towards the use of drugs. The mission of the campaign is to present a unified and visible commitment towards the creation of a Drug-Free America, according to redribbon.org.

With Halloween falling during the same week, volunteers found several community events to participate in where they could help remind young people to make safe choices during the holiday.

Rev. Brian Fesler, regional coordinator for Drug-Free Tennessee, says, “Youth today make decisions about drugs at a younger age. We need to get them reliable information so they can make educated choices and lead healthier lives.”

Drug-Free Tennessee is the local chapter of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World, which provides booklets with information on how drugs affect the body and mind, what a dealer might say, and common street names to young people know how to avoid them. The materials are available free of charge, and can be obtained through drugfreeworld.org.

For more information on Drug-Free Tennessee or to order materials, visit drugfreetn.org. 

The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee Spreads Positivity on Night Out Against Crime

The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee participated in National Night Out Against Crime by distributing the booklets at a neighborhood event.

The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee volunteers joined community partners, neighbors and police for National Night Out Against Crime on Tuesday to help put an end to rampant crime.

"True joy and happiness are valuable," begins the common sense guide, The Way to Happiness, written by humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1980s. Since then, the book has sparked a movement and has been reprinted and passed hand to hand to a wide variety of cultures and peoples. In Tennessee, The Way to Happiness Association works with communities and neighborhoods to spread the booklet to as many people as possible. Organizers say that when the booklet is passed from hand to hand, it is like oil spread upon a raging sea, the calm flows outward and outward.

The Tennessee Association launched its campaign to distribute the booklet in 2009. Since that time, the group has visited local health fairs, festivals and community gatherings.

National Night Out is meant to stop crime before it starts. It was designed to heighten awareness; generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime programs; strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back, according to natw.org.

This year marks the 36th annual event to combat drug use and prevent crime. Neighborhoods frequently celebrate with a mix of food, dancing, information booths and crime forums to help promote safer living.

The Way to Happiness booklet details 21 precepts predicated on the fact that one's survival depends on the survival of others. According to thewaytohappiness.org, "This code of conduct can be followed by anyone, of any race, color or creed and works to restore the bonds that unite humankind." The Way to Happiness aims at giving people back a sense of what is right and wrong in a way that is easy to understand. In the three decades since it was authored, some 80 million copies of the book passed hand to hand.

For more information, visit twthtn.org.

Drug-Free Tennessee Working Against Crime on National Night Out

Drug-Free Tennessee participates each year in National Night Out Against Crime by distributing the Truth About Drugs booklets at neighborhood events.

Drug-Free Tennessee is committed to making neighborhoods drug and crime-free. So it was that volunteers joined community partners, neighbors and police for National Night Out Against Crime to help put an end to rampant crime and drug violations.

National Night Out is meant to stop crime before it starts. It was designed to heighten awareness; generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime programs; strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back, according to natw.org.

This year marks the 36th annual event to combat drug use and prevent crime, and the 10^th year that Drug-Free Tennessee has participated in the Nashville festivities. Neighborhoods frequently celebrate with a mix of food, dancing, information booths and crime forums to help promote safer living.

Rev. Brian Fesler, regional coordinator for Drug-Free Tennessee, says, “Youth today make decisions about drugs at a younger age. We need to get them reliable information so they can make educated choices and lead healthier lives.”

Drug-Free Tennessee is the local chapter of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World, which provides booklets with information on how drugs affect the body and mind, what a dealer might say, and common street names to young people know how to avoid them. The materials are available free of charge, and can be obtained through drugfreeworld.org.

For more information on National Night Out, visit natw.org.  For more information on Drug-Free Tennessee or to order materials, visit drugfreetn.org. 

Drug-Free Tennessee Wants Safe, Crime-Free Neighborhoods

Drug-Free Tennessee participates each year in National Night Out Against Crime by distributing the Truth About Drugs booklets to neighbors.

In the last month alone, there have been nearly one hundred crimes reported by the Nashville police department just in the Edgehill neighborhood. In response, Drug-Free Tennessee will join community partners, neighbors and police for National Night Out Against Crime to put an end to rampant crime and drug violations.

Night Out Against Crime is meant to stop crime before it starts. It was designed to heighten awareness; generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime programs; strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back, according to natw.org.

This year marks the 34th annual event held to combat drug use and prevent crime.  This is the 9^th year that Drug-Free Tennessee has participated in the Nashville festivities. Neighborhoods frequently celebrate with a mix of food, dancing, information booths and crime forums to help promote safer living.

Rev. Brian Fesler, regional coordinator for Drug-Free Tennessee, says, “Youth today are having to make decisions about drugs at a younger age. We need to get them reliable information so they can make educated choices.”

Drug-Free Tennessee is the local chapter of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World, which provides booklets with information on how drugs affect the body and mind, what a dealer might say, and common street names to young people know how to avoid them. The materials are available free of charge, and can be obtained through drugfreeworld.org.

For more information on National Night Out, visit natw.org.  For more information on Drug-Free Tennessee or to order materials, visit drugfreetn.org.

The Foundation for a Drug-Free World Americas Chapter Honors Red Ribbon Week with Series of Events

The Foundation for a Drug-Free World (FDFW) holds a variety of events throughout the year to benefit the community through drug education, prevention and awareness.

According to a WhiteHouse.gov drug control update, from 2009-2010, New York was one of the top ten states for drug-use rates. Approximately 9.82 percent of New York residents reported past-month use of illicit drugs whereas the national average was 8.82 percent.

“This must change,” says Pamela Vilinsky, Regional Coordinator for the Foundation for a Drug-Free World (FDFW) Americas Chapter based in New York, “To prevent even more of an epidemic, we are working twice as hard to spread the truth about drugs.”

During the final week of October, the FDFW presented drug education seminars to several schools, community centers, and to the Boys & Girls Clubs in New Jersey in partnership with the DEA. Not only that, the chapter held several awareness events such as "Meet a Cop" where people were also invited to grab a free copy of the Truth About Drugs booklets.  The Founder of the Americas Chapter of FDFW, Ben Fialkoff, also presented Drug Education Certificates to Law Enforcement Officers as well as held an event with NYPD Explorers Club.

The series of events was to honor Red Ribbon Week, which occurs during the last week of October each year and is a time to educate people and prevent drug abuse. The Red Ribbon Campaign was started when drug traffickers in Mexico City murdered DEA agent Kiki Camarena in 1985. This began the continuing tradition of displaying Red Ribbons as a symbol of intolerance towards the use of drugs. The mission of the Red Ribbon Campaign is to present a unified and visible commitment towards the creation of a Drug-Free America, according to redribbon.org.

“We are always proud to participate in Red Ribbon Week, as part of a unified voice that says ‘we are not going to let drugs continue to ruin lives across the world,’” says Vilinsky.

The FDFW Americas Chapter is part of the worldwide effort to end drug abuse through education, the Foundation for a Drug-Free World. To learn about the work done in New York, New Jersey, Washington DC, and Latin America, visit DrugFreeWorldAmericas.org.