The Challenge
According to the CDC, from 1999 to 2017, more than 702,000 people have died from a drug overdose. In 2017, more than 70,000 died from drug overdoses, making it the leading cause of injury-related death in the United States. The opioid epidemic has had an impact on every state in the United States. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) established the 360 Strategy to respond to the heroin and prescription opioid pill crisis. The 360 Strategy takes an innovative approach to combating heroin/opioid use through a combination of law enforcement action and community outreach.
Educating young people about this deadly disease has become a priority in the prevention efforts set forth by the DEA. The DEA partnered with The Rendon Group (TRG) to produce innovative, high-impact outreach educational events targeting youth in the US cities most severely impacted by the opioid crisis.
Our Solution
Working with the DEA and the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation, TRG is producing youth summits on opioid awareness in DEA-targeted cities throughout the United States. The purpose of each summit is to educate middle and high school students about the dangers of opioid misuse while promoting the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. Each summit is tailored to meet the needs of the host city, which includes targeted messaging and the utilization of local performers and keynote speakers.
TRG manages all aspects of the summit productions including:
- Development of state advisory committees
- Venue selection
- Program development
- Production management
- School outreach and student recruitment
- Keynote speaker/celebrity outreach
- Recruitment of resource exhibitors
- Promotional Summit materials
- Secure media partners
- Media Relations
Results
To date, seven summits have been produced in the following cities: Manchester, NH; Salt Lake City, UT; Louisville, KY; Charleston, WV; Albuquerque, NM; New Orleans, LA; Baltimore, MD. Each summit has reached between 5,000 to 10,000 students.
Check out the campaign web site below.
