Borough of Franklin Lakes, November 6, 2015
Recently you heard about our efforts to strengthen our fight against drug abuse in our community. Click here to view the press release. At the center of this fight is our Municipal Alliance whose mission is to identify, plan and implement alcoholism and drug abuse prevention and public awareness programs. Henry Wasserstein and Janis Strauss are the leaders of that program for our town and do a tremendous job. Over the past month, we have been formulating our plans and have reached out to all potential resources including our police, schools, community members and neighbors. Actually we already do a fair amount, but it is clear that drug abuse in our society is an epidemic that is taking lives and destroying families at a greater pace. We must do more and we will. You will hear more about our plans to fight this scourge on the local level in the months to come. We are committed to making a difference and saving lives.
Speaking of making a difference, we recently attended a Red Ribbon Day event at Franklin Avenue Middle School where a special session was held for 8th graders. The program “H.A.P.P.Y. Week” was created by Stephanie Reifman who is a remarkable young lady (sophomore in high school) who decided at a very young age to stand up and fight against heroin addiction. The acronym, H.A.P.P.Y., stands for Heroin Addiction Prevents People’s Years. Stephanie’s program is a hard hitting, student focused session that features two speakers that have had their lives impacted by this epidemic. Students were able to hear from a recovering addict who is in a halfway house and a courageous parent who lost a loved one and is making a difference by speaking out. The students were able to ask questions and they were so interested and compassionate that time ran out before the questions did. Stephanie’s H.A.P.P.Y. program made a difference for our 8th graders. Thank you Stephanie! See her website www.happyweek.org for more information.
Mayor Frank Bivona
http://www.franklinlakes.org/index.asp?SEC=30605AEB-B5BB-485F-AE86-D288BBCC219E&DE=9BF85F0A-8467-4AF1-9DA5-1B9230E76B1C&Type=B_BASIC