Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 3/17/2022
EASTHAMPTON – The Easthampton Healthy Youth Coalition has launched a safe storage campaign to help educate people in the community about steps they can take to prevent accidental or intentional substance misuse.
The campaign, which goes by the motto of “Safe Storage, Safe Youth, Safe Easthampton,” calls on people in the community to make sure their medications, cannabis, and other substances are safely and securely stored.
According to Rebecca Edwards, the coalition coordinator, now is the perfect time to jumpstart this campaign given the growing cannabis market in Easthampton.
Edwards told Reminder Publishing that the coalition is meeting with dispensaries in Easthampton as part of the campaign to ask them to sell lockboxes or locking medicine pouches – which can be used to securely store medication.
“We have a growing cannabis culture in Easthampton, and so we want some of these safety mechanisms and some of that cannabis education to keep up with that growing culture,” said Edwards. “So, the safe storage campaign is a good fit for that.”
The campaign is seen as a great way for the coalition to promote the idea that anyone in Easthampton can participate in safe storage. With this notion in mind, Edwards said that the coalition is additionally looking to partner with realtors to help people who are selling their house with the removal or storage of any prescription medication before an open house or showing.
“Safely storing medicine and substances in the home is something that every single household can do,” said Edwards. “[The campaign] impacts every household in Easthampton, and so we thought it was something good for us to promote in order to have that broad reach.”
While the focus of Easthampton Healthy Youth Coalition is youth substance use prevention, Edwards said that the way they approach that population is through every aspect of the community. “You don’t have to have kids to be part of youth substance use prevention,” she added.
As part of this campaign, people have an opportunity to take the “Safe Storage” pledge by filling out a Google form that asks people what their safe storage plan would be. People can access that form at https://www.easthamptonma.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=155. According to Edwards, 20 locking boxes will be raffled of for people who take the pledge and fill out the form.
“The thing about safely storing medicines and substances in the home is, I feel like it’s something everyone knows they should do in the back of their minds,” said Edwards. “But actually creating that behavior change around it is hard because it’s definitely one of those things where people are less likely to think something bad is going to happen.”
The raffle and pledge will aim to motivate people to bring these safety measures more toward the forefront of their lives. According to Edwards, the coalition is looking to have that raffle on the next Drug Take Back event.
To learn more about safe storage methods and the coalition campaign, as well as more information about where to fill out the Google form to take the pledge, people can visit https://www.easthamptoncoalition.org/get-involved/campaigns/.