SAN DIEGO, CA, USA, February 28, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- SwabTek® is announcing the launch of a new initiative to help educators, parents, and community leaders protect the nation’s youth from the rising threat of fentanyl. The company has created an alliance with three national nonprofit organizations, forming a coalition to deliver educational programming, narcotics detection technology, and drug-prevention training to communities across the country. The alliance, called the "Guardian Coalition”, consists of SwabTek, the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO), the National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association (NDASA) and Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence (L.E.A.D.®).
The Guardian Coalition’s members have pooled resources and tools to develop a unique approach to protecting youth from fentanyl. The Coalition’s primary objective will be to deploy proactive education and tools that enable the country’s educators and parents to better understand the evolving threat of fentanyl and shoulder the burden of keeping the nation’s youth safe at school and at home. The Guardian Coalition’s offerings aims to address the vulnerabilities in existing harm reduction programming that have left youth exposed to the worsening opioid epidemic, and resulted in the recent increase in adolescent drug overdose deaths.
“The danger that fentanyl poses to youth is an evolving threat, and community leaders lack the vital training and supplies necessary to meaningfully address this problem. As a result, youth have never been in greater danger of lethal narcotics poisoning than they are today,” said Bobby Betros, CEO of SwabTek. “We believe that an essential first step in protecting our communities is educating teachers, school administrators, parents, and community leaders. It is imperative to empower these entrusted adults with proactive tools and resources to address the threat of drugs before they even reach the hands of youth where they have the potential to cause significant harm.”
Each Coalition member is a renowned global leader in drug detection and prevention and offers a unique contribution to the alliance’s programming. SwabTek is a provider of narcotics detection technology, enabling educators and parents immediately and safely identify the presence of dangerous drugs of abuse such as fentanyl and other opioids. NASRO is the world’s leader in school-based policing, providing specialized training and resources to school-based law enforcement, school administrators, and campus security professionals. NDASA’s members specialize in safe, thorough, and reliable drug detection, and deliver valuable prevention and remediation education to communities across the country. L.E.A.D. provides evidence-based training programs to enable law enforcement to better partner with educators, community leaders, and families to deter youth and adults from drug use and drug-related crimes.
The Coalition’s “Guardian Action Program” is currently available to communities across the country and acts to complement existing drug prevention programs. The Guardian Action Program consists of a three-step roadmap to educating and equipping school staff and security personnel:
1. Narcotics Identification Technology: School administrators, safety personnel, and parents will be equipped with technology to proactively identify fentanyl on school property and in student belongings. Technologies like SwabTek’s Fentanyl Test Kit can help staff immediately identify fentanyl and other dangerous narcotics in pills, powders, vape pens, and residues — enabling proactive and decisive action when facing the threat of fentanyl.
2. Fentanyl Education: All students, staff, parents, and community leaders will be educated on the dangers of fentanyl and its prevalence among today’s youth. Education will focus on actionable training to help identify and address the presence of fentanyl on campus and identifying and remediating habitual drug use.
3. Safety, Prevention & Remediation Policy: The Coalition will help organizations establish comprehensive drug safety and prevention policy. Drug Policy will prioritize opioid overdose safety and management and providing students with accessible and non-judgmental harm prevention resources, and remediation resources to address habitual drug use.
“Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death among 18- to 45-year-old Americans. This is clearly an epidemic and we must do more to fight this battle. NASRO looks forward to joining with other organizations as a part of the Guardian Coalition to educate and equip those on the front lines of this battle.” said Mo Canady, Executive Director of NASRO.
“The National Drug & Alcohol Screening Association strives to aid in education and prevention efforts with partners who truly care about family and community safety,” said Jo McGuire, Executive Director of NDASA. “We are truly thrilled to serve alongside of these coalition members to achieve these goals.”
For further information regarding the Coalition, visit: www.swabtek.com/guardiancoalition; call: 1-775-277-7977; or email: coalition@swabtek.com.
About the Guardian Coalition:
SwabTek is a US-based manufacturer that produces the world's only dry reagent detection tests for narcotics and explosives. Online demos and other product data can be found at www.swabtek.com/pages/resources. SwabTek products are available online now at www.swabtek.com/collections/kits and offline by contacting a member of SwabTek’s team at sales@swabtek.com.
The National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) is dedicated to making schools and children safer by providing the highest quality training to school-based law enforcement officers. NASRO, the world’s leader in school-based policing, is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1991 for school-based law enforcement officers, school administrators, and school security and/or safety professionals who work as partners to protect schools and their students, faculty, and staff members. Visit www.nasro.org to learn more.
The National Drug & Alcohol Screening Association (NDASA) www.ndasa.com is a member-owned, member-driven, member-operated organization whose mission is to advocate for safe and drug-free workplaces and communities through legislative advocacy, education, training and excellence in drug and alcohol screening services. NDASA offers a multitude of member benefits and discounts, keeping members informed with weekly communications, a quarterly newsletter, a weekly podcast and Town Hall Meeting, monthly educational webinars, and an annual conference.
Law Enforcement Against Drugs and Violence (L.E.A.D.) www.leadrugs.org provides the leadership, resources and management to ensure law enforcement agencies have the means to partner with educators, community leaders, and families. L.E.A.D. succeeds by providing proven and effective programs to deter youth and adults from drug use, drug related crimes, bullying and violence. L.E.A.D. is committed to reinforcing the mutual respect, goodwill and relations between law enforcement and their communities.
SwabTek, NASRO, NDASA & L.E.A.D. form “Guardian Coalition” to empower community leaders to protect youth from fentanyl
The coalition will deliver proactive resources to the country’s communities to help them better understand and meet the evolving threats of the opioid epidemic.
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