(Lebanon, OH) - The Warren County Board of Developmental Disabilities (WCBDD) recently hosted its 4th annual Safety Night for adults with developmental disabilities. The goal of Safety Night is to provide more information on the hard topics to open conversation. Aimed at breaking down taboos and fostering open conversations around these challenging topics, this year's event marked a major achievement: WCBDD hosted a second session dedicated to elementary-aged children.

Attendees of both age-appropriate sessions engaged with experts from local organizations, including Talbert House, Warren County Health Department, Devvastated, Safe on Main, and Warren County Safe Communities. 

Highlights from the presentations included:

• Alcohol and Peer Pressure (Talbert House): The speaker provided clear guidance on alcohol safety, highlighting the physical and mental effects of different types of alcohol and equipping school-aged children with practical skills to navigate peer pressure.

• Substance Awareness and Edibles (Warren County Health Department): This session tackled the risks of smoking, vaping, and cannabis use and how easily infused candies can look like ordinary chocolate bars and gummies. Always read labels carefully before ingesting anything.

• Medication Safety and Narcan (Devvastated): The presenter emphasized proper prescription handling - reminding participants to never share or accept non-prescribed medications in any form or from anyone, even your friends. One highlight of this portion of the presentation was the Deterra Bags. These are designed to safely dispose of and destroy your unwanted medications to prevent abuse and misuse. This includes pills, patches, liquids, creams, and films. Both the speaker and some attendees shared personal stories of losing loved ones to illicit pills. A visual representation revealed how difficult it truly is to determine a real pill versus a counterfeit pill, leading to a necessary demonstration on how to properly administer Narcan.

• Healthy Relationships, Artificial Intelligence, and Consent (Safe on Main): Roy Lutz brought high energy to a discussion on humanity’s need for connection and how to create healthy boundaries in both romantic and platonic relationships. This led into the topic of consent and how dangerous AI has become in today’s world, especially in online relationships.

• Road Safety (Warren County Safe Communities): Before participants had the chance to explore the informational booths and participate in the evening’s giveaways, participants learned about bicycle safety and defensive driving. They ended the evening by pledging to make this summer the “100 Safest Days of Summer”.

In addition to each presentation, Community Employment Coordinator and Safety Night facilitator Cheri Cummings hosted an informational booth helping attendees fill out Safety Cards. Part of the Blue Envelope Program, these cards provide first responders with vital emergency medical information about an individual’s disability to ensure safe and supportive interactions.

By combining these real-life stories with age-appropriate education, both sessions provided participants with the tools and resources needed to navigate these challenges and tackle difficult situations head on.



For more information, contact Claire Bishop at claire.bishop@warrencountydd.org or (513) 335-1026.