Police National Night Out Observance not Deterred by COVID-19

The Foundation for a Drug-Free World joined “car-avans” with others celebrating partnerships between police and community.

WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, UNITED STATES, October 8, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Police, volunteer, and city agency cars and vans wound their way throughout the city of Washington, DC, on October 6th in celebration of National Night Out, showing their support of lawful and drug-free communities.

National Night Out was one of many annual events which had to be reimagined in order to conform to the protocols of the pandemic. It was postponed from its usual date in August to October 6, 2020, due to COVID-19. Police and community partners held “car-avans” which wound through the neighborhoods in the seven police districts of Washington, DC.

This year instead of holding large events at community parks with scores of open air booths, the police called upon community advocates to donate their booklets, flyers, and promotional materials which were placed in bags and passed out to citizens lining the streets or gathering at the beginning or end of the car-avan trip.

The Foundation for a Drug-Free World² (DFW), which has been a participant in all seven police districts in Washington, DC, over the years, joined in again this year to support the police in their efforts to bring vital information to the community on drug and crime prevention. Drug-Free World booklets on synthetics, marijuana, painkillers, prescription drugs, cocaine, heroin and others were placed in each of the bags, and DFW volunteers, practicing strict COVID-19 protocols, joined in the car-avans in their private cars.

Meauvelle Tate, a long time Drug-Free World volunteer from Northeast DC, showed her support from her car, “Drugs are destroying our kids, our families and our communities. I support drug prevention education as the key to turning the tide of substance abuse.”

Lothar Schilling, a Drug-Free World volunteer from Virginia, joined the car-avan in DC’s First Police District, “I brought my son and his friend to this important event, despite the limited interaction with people along the caravan route due to COVID-19 precautions, as they, too, wanted to be a part of Washington, DC’s, 2020 National Night Out”.

Sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch in the United States, National Night Out has had a rich history since 1984. Mr. Matt Peskin¹ established the non-profit National Association of Town Watch in 1981, working with community leaders, law enforcement agencies, and local officials to advance crime and drug prevention. In 1984, Matt Peskin's dedication to the development, maintenance, and promotion of community watch programs led to the creation of the highly successful National Night Out, which usually takes place annually on the first Tuesday of August.

“We are indebted to Mr. Peskin for his vision to educate citizens about the mission of National Night Out: to increase public awareness of local crime, help to establish drug and violence prevention programs, create stronger partnerships between police and communities, increase neighborhood solidarity, and improve volunteer participation,” said Thalia Ghiglia of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World. “Our partnership with the Washington, DC, police department over the years has been very rewarding.”

The Church of Scientology supports the Foundation for a Drug-Free World’s Truth About Drugs program which is one of the world’s largest non-governmental drug education and prevention campaigns. Evidence-based studies have shown that when young people are provided with true information about drugs, usage rates drop.

Drug-Free World offers all its educational materials for free. Materials can be ordered at www.drugfreeworld.org. The Foundation for a Drug-Free World is an international organization with materials in 22 languages.

Susan Taylor
Drug-Free World
+1 202-667-6404
email us here

¹ https://natw.org/about/
² https://www.drugfreeworld.org