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In Monroe County, Tennessee, \u201cBYOB\u201d took on a new meaning this past International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD): Bring Your Own Balloons. Each year, on August 31, IOAD aims to raise awareness and remember the lives lost to overdose. In recognition of IOAD, Monroe County Prevention and Wellness Coalition<\/strong> (PWC) hosted their first annual \u201cSmash the Stigma Community Water Balloon Fight,\u201d which combined this important message with an opportunity for community bonding.<\/p>\n Set in the heart of downtown, Smash the Stigma<\/em> proved to be much more than an amiable water balloon showdown between community members and first responders. In addition to the fun, food trucks and a resource fair were set up nearby with on-site Narcan training, mental health associations, and recovery groups who shared information and resources on substance use and misuse.<\/p>\n \u201cSomeone approached me at the event, telling me how much fun they had and how they appreciated that it brought some levity to a serious day,\u201d said Gabrielle McConkey<\/strong>, Project Director of PWC. \u201cTruthfully, that was something that worried me going into the event because I didn\u2019t want it to seem like the subject wasn\u2019t being taken seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes when you mention the word \u2018addiction\u2019 or \u2018overdose\u2019, people will say that it doesn\u2019t affect them, and they won\u2019t listen to the rest of what you have to say. By drawing these people in with some community fun, we were able to reach more people and get them to listen.\u201d<\/p>\n Another goal for the event was to honor the first responders who are on the front lines of this epidemic. \u201cTheir response to the event was amazing \u2013 all of the first responders had a wonderful time and said it was such a great stress reliever. The opportunity to bring them all together, acknowledge them, thank them for their service and take the time to educate the community on the importance of their efforts was our biggest success from the event.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was also a great opportunity to be out in the community promoting fun activities that prove to our youth that you don\u2019t need to use substances to have a good time. I think it sent a really positive message to our young people.\u201d<\/p>\n Next year, PWC plans to expand the event by involving youth sports team in the water balloon fighting, partnering with the Sheriff\u2019s Office, and adding live entertainment. \u201cI would also love to have the cheerleading teams from each of our three high schools come together to perform a Smash the Stigma<\/em> cheer. This past year\u2019s event was put together very quickly, so we\u2019re looking forward to seeing how much more we can accomplish at next year\u2019s Smash the Stigma<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In Monroe County, Tennessee, \u201cBYOB\u201d took on a new meaning this past International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD): Bring Your Own<\/p>","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":5824,"template":"","resource_type":[281],"drug_specific_issues":[],"action_to_do":[282],"class_list":["post-16990","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_type-coalitions-online","action_to_do-increase-participation-and-membership"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n