Harford County Launches Heroin PSAs in Movie Theaters

Harford County has released its first in a series of public service announcements (PSA) warning youth about the dangers of heroin.

The PSAs, which use teens to help spread the message to their peers, will air in movie theaters across the county.

From Harford County:

Children who have lost a loved one to heroin are speaking out in a series of gripping public service announcements in Harford County movie theaters this summer. Produced by the administration of County Executive Barry Glassman, the first of three 30-second PSAs debuted on June 17 in a campaign that will run through September. The PSAs are the administration’s newest effort to raise awareness about the national heroin epidemic affecting Harford County. All together these emotionally powerful messages will be seen by an estimated 131,000 movie-goers.

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The PSA’s are intended to help bridge the “summer gap” in countywide anti-drug messaging.

“Harford County Public Schools and Harford County government’s prevention specialists do an excellent job reaching parents and students throughout the school year, but it is more difficult to reach families during busy summer months,” said Amber Shrodes, director of the Harford County Department of Community Services. “We want to reach kids in different ways throughout the year to ensure the message continues to be top-of-mind.”

The PSAs were produced in a peer-to-peer format, which is recommended by experts in the field of juvenile drug prevention and by Maryland Governor Hogan’s Heroin Task Force.

For more information read the full news release or visit the Harford County Office of Drug Control Policy.

The innovative efforts counties are putting forward to counter the heroin crisis will be discussed at the MACo Summer Conference session “Counties Confront Substance Abuse: What’s Now, What’s New, and What’s Next”, from 1:00 pm -2:00 pm, Friday, August 19, 2016 at the Roland Powell Convention Center in Ocean City, Maryland.

Attendees of the MACo Summer Conference will also have the opportunity to attend on-site training to be certified and equipped with naloxone.

Learn more about MACo’s Summer Conference: