Red Ribbon Week will be celebrated across the United States and in La Mirada schools the week of October 21 through October 25. Started in 1988, Red Ribbon Week is the nation’s largest drug prevention awareness campaign. This year’s theme is “Send a Message. Stay Drug-Free!” It is a call to action to speak out in support of healthy choices. The theme is also a reminder that by staying drug-free, you are sending a message to yourself and others about how much you value yourself, your overall health, your community, and your future.
During Red Ribbon Week, La Mirada’s Public Safety Team will attend Red Ribbon school rallies. Special speakers will include Safety Education Officer Mary Cipres and Deputy Probation Officer Darryl Harris. “Red Ribbon week educates children about the short-term and long-term effects of drug use,” says Safety Education Officer Mary Cipres. “We hope that by learning about the negative effects of drugs, students will pledge to live a drug-free lifestyle.”
Parents are encouraged to talk to their children about the negative impacts of drug use. Studies have shown that teenagers are 42 percent less likely to use drugs when their parents talk to them regularly about the consequences.
The National Family Partnership organized the first Nationwide Red Ribbon Campaign. NFP provides drug awareness by sponsoring the annual National Red Ribbon Campaign™. Since its beginning in 1985, the Red Ribbon has touched the lives of millions of people around the world. In response to the murder of DEA Agent Enrique Camarena, angered parents and youth in communities across the country began wearing Red Ribbons as a symbol of their commitment to raise awareness of the killing and destruction cause by drugs in America.
Enrique (Kiki) Camarena was a Drug Enforcement Administration Agent who was tortured and killed in Mexico in 1985. When he decided to join the US Drug Enforcement Administration, his mother tried to talk him out of it. “I’m only one person”, he told her, “but I want to make a difference.”
On Feb. 7, 1985, the 37-year-old Camarena left his office to meet his wife for lunch. Five men appeared at the agent’s side and shoved him in a car. One month later, Camarena’s body was found. He had been tortured to death.
In honor of Camarena’s memory and his battle against illegal drugs, friends and neighbors began to wear red badges of satin. Parents, sick of the destruction of alcohol and other drugs, had begun forming coalitions. Some of these new coalitions took Camarena as their model and embraced his belief that one person can make a difference. These coalitions also adopted the symbol of Camarena’s memory, the red ribbon.
In 1988, NFP sponsored the first National Red Ribbon Celebration. Today, the Red Ribbon serves as a catalyst to mobilize communities to educate youth and encourage participation in drug prevention activities.
For more information on Red Ribbon Week, contact the La Mirada Community Sheriff’s Station.
Source: City of La Mirada | Red Ribbon