SAFE partnered with Chesterfield County Mental Health Prevention Services to present a two session Lunch & Learn series on Trauma Stewardship training for health care providers, educators, and helping professionals. We hope the attendees enjoyed the sessions and have found ways to benefit from the discussions on self-care! Please let us know if you have any questions!
Thank you to our event sponsors:
Adams, Jenkins, and Cheatham, BrightView, and Master Center
Please click on each organization name to visit their website to learn more about the services they offer to Chesterfield County!
There have been fewer DUI fatalities, in Chesterfield County in 2021. Chesterfield County Police Department has stepped up DUI and DUID enforcement efforts to ensure lives are protected.
We gratefully acknowledge the officers who have gone above and beyond the call of duty and who have been recommended by their supervisor to receive these awards for their outstanding service in DUI enforcement. The top three Chesterfield County Police officers with the most DUI arrests in 2021 are:
Master Officer Luis R. Murray, 33 arrests; Officer Valentina Aliu, 33 arrests; and Officer Kasey S. Willis, 28 arrests.
SAFE 2019 Annual Meeting
Hidden In Plain Sight
2019 SAFE Spring Fundraiser Luncheon
Thank you for attending SAFE’s 2019 Spring Fundraiser Luncheon to help us celebrate SAFE’s 20th anniversary! We hope you enjoyed the presentations from our Keynote Speaker, Lynda Harrison Hatcher, our Special Guest, Senator Amanda Chase, our SAFE Board Chair, Frank McCracken, and SAFE’s Executive Director, Regina Whitsett.
We also would like to thank the individuals, businesses, and our sponsors that made generous donations! Your contributions make an impact on preventing and reducing substance abuse in Chesterfield County.
Aetna Better Health of Virginia
https://www.aetnabetterhealth.com/virginia/
Adams, Jenkins, and Cheatham: Certified Public Accountants and Business Consultants https://www.ajccpas.com/
Commonwealth Oral and Facial Surgery
https://commonwealthofs.com/
Rally Day 2019
On January 23, 2019, SAFE’s Opioid and Heroin Task Force met with 20 legislatures to talk about substance abuse-related bills.
Giving Tuesday, 2018
November 27, 2018 is National Giving Tuesday. Help SAFE in preventing and reducing substance abuse by generously donating to support our strategies and initiatives! Click the link below to donate now!
Donate for #GivingTuesday
SAFE 2018 Annual Meeting
At our 2018 Annual Meeting, we recognized 3 individuals for their work done with Substance Abuse Free Environment. Congratulations & thank you for everything you do.
21st Century Award- Campbell Pendleton
Media Champion Award- Chris Ruth
Sharyl Adams Award- Patty Fox
SAFE had an awesome panel of speakers who discussed and educated the attendees about JUULs and E-Cigs, Alcohols Impact on the Latino Community, Cannabis Legislation and Regulations, and Opioids and Heroin. Thank you, speakers, for sharing your time and expertise with us!
MEDICATION COLLECTION UNIT INSTALLED AT POLICE HEADQUARTERS – AVAILABLE 24/7
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, VA – A MedReturn Drug Collection Unit has been installed in the lobby of Chesterfield County Police headquarters at 10001 Iron Bridge Road.
The unit was donated to the police department by Substance Abuse Free Environment, Inc., (SAFE), the substance abuse prevention coalition serving Chesterfield County. The collection unit will give residents a safe and environmentally responsible way to dispose of unwanted, unused or expired prescription and over-the-counter medications. Needles, syringes and other “sharps” will not be accepted.
“Our department, in partnership with SAFE and other agencies, has hosted medication take-backs regularly since 2010,” said Col. Jeffrey S. Katz, chief of police. “At those events, we have collected over 22,500 pounds of medication. This drug collection unit will allow residents to dispose of unused medications between scheduled medication take-backs.
“Like communities across the country, Chesterfield County is grappling with the devastating impacts of addiction. We continuously work, both internally and with other groups, to reduce the negative consequences of addiction through prevention, education, outreach, and enforcement. The installation of this drug collection unit is part of that ongoing effort.”
“Chesterfield County Police Department and SAFE have been partners in substance abuse prevention for many years,” said Regina Whitsett, executive director of SAFE. “We are pleased to donate this MedReturn Drug Collection safe to their agency.
“More than 61 percent of youth who used prescription drugs not prescribed to them say they found them in the home, according to the 2016 Community Youth and Young Adult surveys. Reducing the availability of drugs is critical for the protection of our youth. Having a drop box permanently located in the community will decrease youth access to unused prescription medications.”
The lobby of police headquarters is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
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Authorized by: Maj. Brad Badgerow, Operational Support Bureau. For more information, please contact Public Information Coordinator Elizabeth Caroon at 804-796-7032 or SAFE Executive Director Regina Whitsett at 804-694-7794.
A Safe Medication Disposal Kiosk is also available at Walgreens Pharmacy locations:
4201 Meadowdale Blvd.
North Chesterfield, VA 23234
6851 Temie Lee Pkwy
Midlothian, VA 23112
A Safe Medication Disposal Kiosk is also available at CVS Pharmacy locations:
13800 Hull Street Road
Midlothian, VA
8121 Midlothian Turnpike
Richmond, VA
64oo Iron Bridge Road
Richmond, VA
2018 SAFE Spring Fundraiser Luncheon
Thank you to everyone who attended the 2018 SAFE Spring Fundraiser Luncheon this year at Independence Golf and Country Club! And a special thank you to Dr. Martin Buxton, M.D. for presenting at this event as well as our Board Members for your participation and support!
Imagine the problems of a typical suburban teen: Calculus test? Girlfriend issues? Not sure what to wear to prom?
Most people don’t picture heroin addiction.
I would say that we’re just a normal family,” said Henrico County mom Jenny Derr. “I was room parent for my kids, on the PTA board, and we sat down and ate dinner together every night.”
But the model family was shattered when they learned their son, Billy, a popular student at Mills Godwin High School, was addicted to drugs. After struggling for several years to stay sober and kick the addiction, Billy passed away from an overdose on April 12, 2016.
Billy Derr’s addiction wasn’t an isolated problem.
“Just a few weeks into my term, I learned what too many parents already know: We have a (prescription opioid) problem,” Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring told a group of concerned citizens at an event at Godwin. “There is no typical heroin or opioid abuser. It can touch every one of us. The numbers don’t seem real, they’re so large.” READ MORE
