CAID Fall Update: Reaching out to Teens

Here's an update on what CAID has been up to in recent weeks...we're reaching out to teens in unique ways.

I've been working on an interesting project that will share Karen's story with more students in our area. Denis Foley is curator of "Friends Exhibit/Last Call" at the Lewis Henry Morgan Institute at the SUNY Institute of Technology in Albany. "Friends" is a traveling exhibition. Its funding is provided through the Governor's Traffic Safety Council, New York State Stop DWI Coordinators' Foundation, The Sheldon & Ruth Goldstein Foundation and the New York State Press Association Foundation.

So what is it? Here's a description taken from the Friends website:
The exhibition focuses on the lives of the victims prior to the crash, emphasizing individual histories through photos, possessions, interviews of victims’ friends and families, and audio and visual recordings. A timeline traces the events of the victims’ last day, including a detailed account of the crash itself. Along with the text of the timeline, quotes and artifacts that pertain to the crash are part of this section. The aftermath that the families, friends, police and community were left with is included as well. The combination of these elements creates an emotional reaction in observers, with the goal of behavioral change. This approach creates a powerful message that may deter students from driving after consuming alcohol.

The exhibit featuring Karen's story will travel to high schools across the county and it's going to be very impacting. I spoke with Denis about in depth about what type of person Karen was and what exactly happened on Friday night, March 6. It will include the things that meant the most to her and really defined what type of person she was. It'll also have letters, newspaper clippings, and the timeline of the crash. As always, we don't expect all teens to be impacted by this exhibit, but if one girl or guy takes a look at the exhibit and makes the choice not to drink and drive, then it'll be worth it.

STOP DWI and CAID are also working on producing a video PSA that will be distributed to all schools to use as part of their morning announcements. This will give students a weekly report of arrests, crashes, and incidents tied to drinking and driving in Erie County and how lives are impacted. We're also working on a video contest with Fox 29 where teens will be able to produce their own anti-DWI video PSA. We'll keep you posted on these projects as they develop.

The mission of CAID is to educate and we're moving full steam ahead in that mission and hopefully we'll save lives in the process.


Deanna