City of Salem Partners with Boys and Girls Clubs for Red Ribbon Week Prevention Activities

• October 27-31 is Red Ribbon Week in Salem, part of National Youth Substance Use Prevention Month
• One of this year's messages is preventing opioid use.

The City of Salem and the Boys and Girls Club of Salem, Marion and Polk Counties are working together to teach kids how to live healthy, drug-free lives. During Red Ribbon Week, kids at all eight Boys and Girls Clubs will take part in fun, interactive activities and lessons about staying drug-free.

Red Ribbon Week is the largest and oldest national prevention program for youth in the country. This is the second year the City has partnered with Boys and Girls Clubs for this observance.

"Local hospitals and emergency room data continues to show that children, teens, and young adults are overdosing and sometimes dying from opioids, including from pills laced with fentanyl. In 2024, 10-to-24-year-olds, visited ER's for opioid overdoses at a rate of 44 per 100,000 people in Marion County. We want to see that rate get to zero," said Laurie Shaw Casarez, Opioid Prevention Coordinator for the City. Her work is funded by money from national opioid settlements.

Find more drug statistics about Marion County.

Activities for Red Ribbon Week

This year's theme is "Life is a Puzzle. Solve it Drug Free." From October 27 to October 31, each day will have a special focus:

• Monday: Community & Connection - Kids will make a red construction paper linked chain to hang in their club. They will learn the importance of being linked into a supportive community to avoid loneliness and make good choices.
• Tuesday: Life is a Puzzle: Solve it Drug Free - Kids will play with puzzles donated by community members. They will learn how making good choices piece by piece helps build a bright future, just like putting together a puzzle.
• Wednesday: Wake Up Drug Free - Younger kids will make positive affirmation collages with morning-themed pictures to keep by their beds. Older kids will decorate doors with the morning theme at the clubs. These activities will remind kids to start each day optimistic, brave and drug-free.
• Thursday and Friday: Say Boo to Bad Choices (Drugs are a Trick, not a Treat) - Peer pressure can feel like a scary monster. Kids make little pompom monsters to take home with the saying "Stronger than the Monster." Children will also choose their personal refusal skills strategies through lessons and discussions.

Middle schoolers at the clubs will learn about the impact of vaping and the dangers of fentanyl through videos and discussions. They will make creative journals that will include a personalized 4-step peer pressure exit plan along with other activities.

Other Observances

The City is also planning a Red Ribbon Week proclamation at the October 27 meeting of the Salem City Council.

"Red Ribbon Week serves as a catalyst to mobilize communities to educate and develop healthy, happy and brave children and youth through drug prevention activities celebrating a drug-free life," the proclamation reads.

To honor Red Ribbon Week, the Union Street Railroad Bridge, now a pedestrian bridge, will be lit up in red.

CAPTION: In Fall 2024, Boys and Girls Club children and youth planted red tulips in club gardens representing a promise to live drug-free and make positive choices. The flowers bloomed in the Spring reminding them that just like healthy habits and good choices now help kids have a beautiful future.