Any opportunity to educate the public on the dangers of incorrectly using prescription drugs is worthwhile, Sturgis Director of Public Safety Ryan Banaszak said.
During its Wednesday, June 26 meeting, the Sturgis City Commission approved hiring Hype Brand Management, Sturgis, for its $25,000 public education campaign. According to Banaszak’s report, Hype will provide:
- two educational videos, one for elementary students and one for middle and high school students
- five 30-second videos for social media
- 30 designed posts, in both English and Spanish, for social media
- all scripting, multiple shoots and creation of animated characters for the above content
Hype’s work will be done within a budget of $25,000, the Sturgis City Commission learned. The city continues to receive approximately $25,000 annually in opioid settlement money allocated through the federal government.
“The money comes with strict restrictions in terms of allowable uses, which include purchasing Narcan, treatment services, programming, and public education,” Banaszak wrote.
Before Hype was hired, the City of Sturgis submitted a request for proposals including the intended scope of the public education campaign.
“Fourteen responses to the RFP were received and all were similar in total content delivered, with several companies not providing specific quantities of social media posts as requested,” Banaszak wrote.
In addition to approving Hype Brand Management’s proposal, the Sturgis City Commission was also required to approve a budget amendment. This is because no budgeted expenditures were included in the original budget for Fund 284, according to Banaszak’s report.
Banaszak looks forward to youth and the public being educated and aware.
“There are a variety of prescription drugs that can be used for health, but they can also be abused,” he said. “We’re wanting to keep educating people about safety, including proper use and disposal. That includes not taking pills if you don’t know what they are used for or aren’t prescribed to you.”
Frank Stanko is a staff writer with Watershed Voice.
