News
Drug Free Pennsylvania Launches Connect & Protect PA
10/3/2011
Drug Free Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth's statewide 501(c)3 nonprofit agency dedicated to addressing the dangers of drug abuse, announced today the launch of the Connect & Protect PA campaign. Connect & Protect PA is a new campaign focusing on the dangers of prescription drug abuse among Pennsylvania's teenagers.
Recognizing that prescription drug abuse among teens is rapidly increasing and that parents and teens are widely underinformed about the serious risks associated with prescription drug abuse, the Connect & Protect PA campaign was created to increase awareness and generate discussion between parents and teenagers about prescription drug safety and the steps they can take to avoid or respond to abuse.
Reducing teen prescription drug abuse begins by educating both parents and teenagers about the power and potency of prescripton drugs, and continues with steps both can take to address drug safety at home as well as with friends.
The Connect & Protect PA campaign includes a dynamic educational website at www.connectandprotectpa.org that addresses four topics of importance to parents, and six topics essential to teenagers. For each topic, narrative content is supported by an informational video.
In addition, teenagers may play the online quiz game, Putting the Pieces Together, which tests their knowledge in each of the six categories they will learn about on the site. As teens successfully complete each category, they unlock a puzzle piece until all six of the pieces are unlocked and they are able to 'put the pieces together' about the dangers of prescription drug abuse.
The program is also supported by online efforts including social media outreach, and visitors find the campaign on twitter @connectprotect.
The Connect & Protect PA campaign is made possible through support from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime & Delinquency.
For more information on the campaign, contact Melissa Rau of Drug Free Pennsylvania, Inc. at rau@drugfreepa.org.
