“Fatal Visions” goggles, along with an educational kit, were purchased for the Merrill Police Department with funds provided to the Lincoln County Drug Free Coalition by Good Samaritan Health Center, part of Ascension.
They will be used to educate youth and adults about the impact of substance use on an individual’s ability to do normal everyday tasks at the Merrill Police Department’s annual Community Night Out, at school presentations, during their Student Police Academy and Citizen Police Academy; as well as during community programs they do with the larger coalition.
Two additional coalition projects will be supported through the hospital’s donation. Promotion of the Know! Program (Start Talking – Building a Drug-Free Future – www.drugfreeactionalliance.org/know) – a tool that parents can sign up for to receive tips by email that contain current facts about alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, as well as action steps they can take to help children resist peer pressure to use. The donation will also support the Merrill Social Norms project marketing efforts with the goal of continuing to correct students, parents/guardians and the larger communities misperceptions of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use among Merrill youth.
All of these projects support the mission of the Lincoln County Drug Free Coalition to bring various sectors of the community together to reduce the use/abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs among youth, and over time, among adults.
To learn more about the Lincoln County Drug Free Coalition, visit their website at http://lincoln.uwex.edu/dfc or contact Debbie Moellendorf at 715-539-1077.