Thanks for a great summer, Project Hope

As summer comes to a close, Code 3 is celebrating the expansion of our signature Project Hope program. This year, Project Hope launched in Southeast Washington, DC at John Carroll Nalle Elementary School. 

We kicked off with a school beautification project in May, where police and students worked together to create murals throughout the school, helping to cultivate an inspiring learning environment. Members of the community and the Metropolitan Police Department were present to witness the big reveal. Throughout the summer, students from the school participated also in recreational activities with local police including skating, swimming and basketball tournaments. 

We look forward to the way this program will continue to build bridges between local students and police officers.

Code 3’s Project Hope program at Hutchison Elementary School in Herndon, VA is our longest-running program and had yet another great summer. The program is beloved by students and their families, and is also changing the perception of police in the communities surrounding the school.

This summer, the Herndon Police Department joined Hutchison Elementary students for a series of outings including a visit to a petting zoo, competitive soccer tournaments, and water activities. A select group of children were also invited to attend the US Open in Box seats, which made for an incredible experience. The school’s annual Back to School Night was also sponsored by Herndon Police, who provided popsicles and mingled with students and their families.

AMHERST – As part of the ongoing battle against fentanyl, heroin and other opioids that are devastating New Hampshire communities, the RALI CARES educational trailer found itself stopping at the Amherst Police Department on Wednesday.

Also known as RX Abuse Leadership Initiative CARES, this vehicle is staged as a mock teenager’s bedroom for parents and families to tour, while along the way learning the signs of drug abuse.

As part of the tour, RALI New Hampshire and Code 3 have partnered with local law enforcement officials and other leaders to educate the public.

The tour officially began last week in front of the State House with Gov. Chris Sununu. Since then, the trailer has traveled to Portsmouth, Exeter and Dover. The final stop will be at the Manchester Fire Department on Friday.

RALI New Hampshire works to support programs that prevent the misuse of prescription medicines in attempts to save more people from the opioid crisis. The group does this by bringing together community leaders and elected officials who are committed to finding effective solutions.

More than 150 people dropped by to check out the trailer on Wednesday, a RALI Cares representative said.

One of those was state Sen. Shannon Chandley, D-Amherst. She received a tour from Code 3 Executive Director Joe Abdalla. Abdalla guided Chandley through the trailer and showed her potential spots for hiding drugs.

After her tour, Chandley said she was really glad to attend. She said it was very informative for parents in terms of what to look for and seeing the way drugs are packaged.

Chandley also said it is important to educate families. Getting more people to see the educational trailer should help in the battle.

During the tour, Abdalla spoke of the importance of catching drug abuse in its early stages, if at all possible. RALI CARES works to share resources with local community leaders, families and friends to ensure that everyone can be part of the solution to work toward ending the opioid crisis.

At the site, there were bags for families featuring resources on how to identify warning signs of addiction, securing prescriptions and disposing of prescriptions when no longer needed.

TO READ ORIGINAL ARTICLE, CLICK HERE

Code 3 had the honor of joining the DC Police Departments “Three Kings Day” celebration.  The event was intended for community members of all ages. We were also very happy to enjoy musical performances.  Police Officers joined the community on this important day.  Code 3 also donated bicycles to children during the event.

The following is re-posted from Seacoast Online. Click here to read the original post.

By Karen Dandurant
[email protected]

DOVER — A parent suspecting their child might have a substance abuse problem naturally wants to intervene and to help, hoping to save their loved one’s life. Oftentimes, however, parents or other caregivers don’t know the warning signs. Those who work with teens battling addiction say the best place to start is in the child’s bedroom.

On Friday, state Sen. David Watters, D-Dover, and Strafford County Sheriff David Dubois welcomed the Rx Abuse Leadership Initiative (RALI) Cares Trailer to Dover, at the Strafford County Complex. Parents and other concerned residents were invited to take a free, educational and interactive tour of a trailer, which is set up as a mock teenage bedroom. They walked through and looked at possible warning signs of drug abuse.

The same tour will be offered in Portsmouth’s Worth Lot on Saturday, from 12:30 to 4 p.m. It will be offered in Exeter at the fire station on Monday from 8 to 11 a.m.

Being hesitant to invade a child’s privacy is outweighed by the need to know and to get help. It is outweighed by not wanting to bury your child, experts say.

RALI supports programs “that prevent the misuse of prescription medicines so that more lives can be saved from the opioid crisis,” said Paul Young, RALI director. “We do this by bringing together community leaders and elected officials who are committed to finding effective solutions and sharing ideas that will make a difference across our state.”

“The Rx Abuse Leadership Initiative (RALI) of New Hampshire supports programs that prevent the misuse of prescription medicines so that more lives can be saved from the opioid crisis,” said Paul Young, RALI Director. “We do this by bringing together community leaders and elected officials who are committed to finding effective solutions and sharing ideas that will make a difference across our state.”

Joe Abdala, who helped with the tours, is executive director of Code 3, a nonprofit organization formed in 2015, in Virginia, in an effort to improve relationships between the community and law enforcement. Code 3 is partnering with RALI NH.

Abdala said in today’s climate, opioid abuse can start at any age, and addiction usually begins with prescription opioids. He said early detection and recovery treatment saves lives.

“A lot of addiction can start with injuries, such as an accident or a sports injury,” said Abdala. “The teens are prescribed painkillers. It escalates from there. No one sets out to become an addict. When the prescription drugs become too expensive, they turn to heroin, which is now cheap and easy to get.

Watters said his son had an injury and was prescribed 30 painkillers. “He took one,” said Watters. “We have a drug registry here in the state and we are looking at prescribing practices.”

Abdala said he understands pain medicine is sometimes needed. He suggested parents take custody of the prescription to make sure it is used properly, and the unused pills are disposed of properly.

Young said RALI NH has partnered with the New Hampshire Hospital Association to distribute Deterra bags as part of the ZeroLeft campaign. The bags contain carbon and when mixed with water and the pills, neutralizes the material which can be safely discarded in the trash. He said coffee grounds will achieve the same effect.

The mock bedroom was set up with the participation of emergency response personnel, who shared what they found when responding to teens who had overdosed.

“The EMS people saw the indicators the parents did not see because they know what to look for,” said Abdala. “Many times the parents are not aware, through no fault of their own. They care. They just do not know what to look for.”

The biggest surprises were the items a parent would not look twice at. The bedroom contained a can of Coke, a water bottle and a can of Pringles. Each had a false top or bottom that contained drugs and drug paraphernalia, for injecting heroin. Abdala said you can buy these fake items easily, for about $5.

The tour started in the teen’s mock bathroom.

“Bathrooms are a great place to get high, because there is some privacy,” said Abdala. He gave Watters the trash to look through and almost immediately he pulled out a square of foil, stained with drug residue.

“Aha,” said Watters. “This is pretty clear.”

Less clear was the Q-tip, with one end missing.

“The users think that the cotton can be used to filter out impurities in the cooked mix,” said Abdala. “They are wrong, but that’s why this one has only one end. This innocuous looking cap here is the end of the syringe plunger. Kids throw away the syringe and the needle cap, but often toss these in the trash.”

Watters said he would not have recognized the small plastic cap as being drug related. He related a personal story about the loss of a family member to substance abuse.

“We have a problem here in New Hampshire with heroin being laced with fentanyl, killing people,” said Watters. Abdala said almost all heroin sold now is laced with some version of fentanyl, making it 50-100 times more potent.

Going back to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, Abdala produced a spoon with dried on residue, and a toothpaste box that held a syringe and a dose of heroin ready to be used. Antacids, Imodium and Phillips’ Milk of Magnesia sat on the shelf.

The following is re-posted from New Hampshire Public Radio. Click here to read the original post.

By Britta Greene

A trailer offering a glimpse inside the bedroom of a teenage drug user is traveling the state over the next week, making stops in Concord, Dover, Portsmouth, Exeter and Manchester.

Inside, it’s set up with signs of drug abuse that the average parent might not notice: discarded paraphernalia in the trash, shoelaces and belts that have been used as tourniquets, stashed drugs hidden under drawers.

It’s sponsored by the Rx Abuse Leadership Initiative, known as RALI, and the organization is hoping to raise awareness and encourage adults to intervene when they suspect young people may be using.

RALI is funded by the national pharmaceutical lobby PhRMA, representing some of the largest opioid manufacturers, including OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma.

Another group backed by PhRMA, the Addiction Policy Forum, has encountered controversy in other states because of its industry ties.

The State of New Hampshire and local cities and towns are currently suing PhRMA members for their role allegedly fueling the opioid crisis.

But Gov. Chris Sununu, who toured RALI’s educational trailer Thursday morning, said any significant investment in prevention efforts in New Hampshire, regardless of funding source, is welcome.

“Programs like this can save lives,” he said. “Programs like this can educate people in communities. And for us in New Hampshire on the front lines, that’s a win.”

PhRMA and member companies invested $15,000 in Sununu’s re-election campaign.

Other elected officials, including Democratic state senators David Watters and Martha Fuller Clark, will make appearances on the trailer’s tour.

All told, RALI invested $1 million in New Hampshire in 2018, according to Paul Young, a veteran Republic political strategist in New Hampshire who is serving as a consultant to the organization.

That money was used to expand Zero Left, a program that helps people safely dispose of unused prescription medication, and support local treatment and recovery groups in the form of small grants, he said.

Our 32-foot Opioid Awareness Trailer is almost complete and ready to hit the road.

In 2018 alone, we lost 70,000 kids and young adults to this crisis last year and the majority of their parents said they had no idea of their kids’ addiction or the signs and symptoms of addiction.

We hope to change that nationally by showing parents a teenager’s room with possible signs of use/abuse of opioids and paraphernalia associated with disease.  Recovering addicts toured the trailer and pointed out common stash locations and common patterns associated with the disease.  We are scheduled to visit New Hampshire in March, Minnesota and Ohio in April and Maryland in May.

We are excited to show you the finished product soon!

Code 3 sponsored the “I Have A Dream” Art Contest, on Martin Luther’s Kings birthday. This was all hosted at the 6th Police District in Washington, D.C.  We were moved to see twenty-five children from local schools paint their dreams out on a canvas. Supplies were provided by a local artist, who gave the children a brief art lesson and all materials needed to complete their painting.  We handed out a 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize along with participation gifts for all of the kids.  The winning portrait was painted by a ten-year-old who painted Caucasian, Hispanic and African American children holding hands looking up to the sun. In light of Martin Luther King Day, the event was very moving.

Our Stop the Violence New Years event was a huge success.  We sponsored children from all over Washington, DC, and provided a safe atmosphere for New Years Eve.  The event was held at the 6th Police District in Northeast Washington, DC. Kids were treated to a movie, face painting, balloon artist and a game truck.  Each of the stations provided interaction with local officer and parents were super appreciative for the event. 

The Project Hope Christmas Party in Fairfax was another huge success and a great time was had by all.  The Herndon Police Department sent a large group of officers who participated in games with the kids. The kids got to watch the officers compete in games and then decorated the officers as Christmas trees. The parents, staff and kids got to vote to pick a winner.  We enjoyed pizza and desert after the games and each of the children got to pick a Christmas present from an array of games and toys.

 This is one of our premier projects and we were featured in a recent article in the Police Executive Research Forum as one of the premier programs in the country in bringing youth, communities and law enforcement together.  I have included a link to the article if you have time to read.  

https://www.policeforum.org/assets/PoliceImmigrantCommunities.pdf

Our second annual Blue Christmas event was another huge success and we hope to keep expanding our reach each year.  We were able to provide 110 complete Thanksgiving meals with all of the fixings as well as desert. Each of the meals were delivered by a uniformed police officer to a family in need.  We were also excited to have so many volunteers to help us package and prepare the boxed meals.

• Christmas presents for families affected by violent crimes.  
• Pete Newsham, the Chief of Police in Washington DC, contacted our organization and asked if we could assist five families in this category.  These families were victums of violence or sexual assualt.  We gladly took on the five families and provided each of them with Christmas meals and an array of toys and other gifts. Dale and Joe Abdalla had the priveldge to personally deliver these gifts to families. When opening the door to these families, it would be an understatement to say they were overwhelmed with joy and excitement. Of course pictures were not appropriate for this event since some of the children were victims.