SHASTA COUNTY, Calif. -- Red Ribbon Week starts Wednesday, October 23. The nationwide event has raised awareness of the dangers of drug use for decades, and this year they're hoping to bring the week back into the community's focus.
Betty Cunningham and her team at the non-profit Shasta County Chemical People are some of the people doing just that. Cunningham is executive director of the nonprofit that focuses on substance use prevention among the youth. She says over the last years they've seen fentanyl and nicotine vapes take off among teens. Nationally the US Department of Health and Human Services estimates more than half of school-age children will try illegal drugs before they finish high school.
This is why she says part of the tactic for this year is getting more than students involved.
"What we do is what they see," she explains. "We may tell young people one thing and do something else, and it's important that we show them that we are making those same choices. That this isn't just about them and it's not just about their choices but that we care about them."
Cunningham says along with the usual decorating contests for local schools there will be a Drug take back event on Saturday, October 26 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Redding City Hall, and if you make a visit to local theaters you could see a PSA made by teens from the area.
However, their first event is Wednesday night. To kick it all off they'll be lighting up the Sundial Bridge red and cutting the red ribbon at 6:30 pm.