• Emergency Line: 911 
• Suicide and Crisis Lifeline:  988
• Youthline: Text to 829863 or Call (877) 968-8491 theyouthline.org
• Marion County Behavioral Health Crisis Center: (503) 585-4949
• Polk CARES Crisis Clinic: (503) 623-1709
• Behavioral Health Resource Network: (503) 623-1709
• Addiction Treatment Services: (503) 576-4660 (ages 12+)

Fentanyl Awareness Campaign

Teens Team Up for Opioid Awareness!

The Snoball Youth Committee has teamed up with the City of Salem - Opioid Prevention to start their first-ever campaign to raise awareness about opioids for this December's winter dance.

The slogan for the 2025 campaign is: "Stay Chill. Ditch the Pill! Dance at the Sno."

The teens want to encourage everyone to have fun at the event without using drugs. After learning about the dangers of counterfeit pills that can be laced with fentanyl and the local impact it is having on teens and young adults, the Youth Committee decided to help save lives by spreading the word to their friends, classmates, and families.

They want everyone to ditch the [street] pill and just dance!

In addition to adding the campaign to the Snoball website and social media, the campaign includes awareness stickers provided at their ticket sales tables during lunch at school and handed out to teachers and classmates.

Snoball is a long-standing tradition in our community, and this year marks its 72nd year of providing a safe, fun, and pro-social drug-free event for high school students living in the Mid-Willamette Valley.

• Get tickets

In March at the ILEAD Youth Leadership and Wellness Summit, the Snoball Dance Youth Advisory was presented with an ILEAD Impact Award for their 2025 campaign. The Impact Awards seek to inspire teens to give back to the community and the opioid awareness campaign was a great example of how peer-to-peer advocacy can work.

For more information on the Impact Awardees:  https://www.cityofsalem.net/Home/Components/News/News/2043/15#!/

Pictured above are 9 of the 25 Snoball Dance Youth Advisory Members and their advisor Susan Adkins with Class Act Events after receiving the ILEAD Youth Program Impact Award on March 7th, 2025 in Salem, Oregon.

ILEAD Youth Summit 

ILEAD 2027:  Date TBD (Often held the 1st Saturday of March)

Join Us for the ILEAD Youth Summit!

Our ILEAD Youth Leadership and Wellness Summit is a free, one-day event for high school-aged youth. It’s open to teens from Marion, Polk and Linn Counties, and it takes place in the capital city.

ILEAD is anchored in substance use prevention strategies concentrating on protective factor building and developmental assets. The day is filled with fun activities, workshops, food, networking, resources and donuts!

The workshops cover topics like:

• Leadership Skills
• Preparing for College and Careers
• Health and Wellness
• Being Ready for Life; and
• Personal Growth

You can register online starting in mid-January!

For more information:  ILEAD Summit

Follow us: Instagram @ileadyouthsummit  and  Facebook @ileadoregon

Youth Substance Use Prevention Month

Boys & Girls Club of Salem, Marion and Polk Counties partnered with the City of Salem for a 2nd year in a row in observance of October's Youth Substance Use Prevention Month and its National Red Ribbon Week Program.

This year's Red Ribbon Week theme -  LIFE IS A PUZZLE: SOLVE IT DRUG FREE

(Pictured above is the Red Ribbon Week Themed Coloring Page for 2025 and says "Life is a Puzzle. Solve it Drug Free.")

All eight (8) club locations provide week-long, age-appropriate lessons and discussions to help build awareness around the harms of illegal substance use and medically prescribed medicine misuse. 

Younger elementary-aged children cover important ideas such as only taking medicine from trusted adults and understanding it's okay to say no. Pre-teens may be learning the specific dangers of vaping and e-cigarettes while middle schoolers are also learning how to become peer advocates to avoid Fentanyl-laced pills.

(Pictured above is the Boys & Girls Club Swegle Club location and their Red Ribbon Week-themed bulletin board.)

Skill and confidence-building activities focus on the importance of:

• finding a supportive community,
• discovering personally engaging activities or hobbies,
• learning healthy ways to cope with life stressors,
• identifying peer pressure,
• practicing refusal skills, and
• creating personalized exit plans.

(Pictured above left are club members working on "Wake Up Drug Free Day" themed posters. Pictured right are youth creating club flower gardens as part of the Red Ribbon Week "Plant the Promise" project.)

Over 350 children and teens participate each year in this important program thanks to the City of Salem's Opioid Prevention partnership with Boys & Girls Club and their club location staff.  

Read more on this year's partnership and themed activities here: https://www.cityofsalem.net/Home/Components/News/News/1737/15#!/ 

For more information on Boys & Girls Club: https://bgc-salem.org 

For more information on Red Ribbon Week: www.redribbon.org 

 Posted: April 28, 2026

April Mayoral Proclamation

Mayor Julie Hoy, City Councilors, and the Salem Fire Department's Rapid Engagement, Assessment, and Community Health (REACH) Team representatives, honor April 29 as National Fentanyl Awareness Day in Salem. 

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency first recognized National Fentanyl Awareness Day in 2022, highlighting the need for increased awareness and action against illegally made fentanyl, a dangerous synthetic opioid. The observance itself was founded by parents who have tragically lost loved ones to the drug overdose crisis and wanted to sound the alarm on this critical public health crisis.

Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, and even a small amount can cause fatal overdoses, making it one of the leading causes of drug-related deaths in the United States.

With the rise in counterfeit pills containing traces of illicitly manufactured fentanyl, there is now an alarming risk of accidental overdoses, particularly among young people who may be unaware of the dangers posed by these substances.

Mayor Hoy called on all residents to join in raising awareness about the dangers of fentanyl, supporting those affected by this crisis, and taking action to prevent further loss of life.

Full Proclamation here.

(Pictured from left to right: Back row Councilor Matthews, Councilor Tigan, Councilor Nordyke, Councilor Varney, and Councilor Brown. Front row Councilor Gwen, Council Chair Nishioka, REACH Team members, and Mayor Hoy.)

Want to host an awareness event for National Fentanyl Awareness Day 2027? Learn more at fentanylawarenessday.org

Posted: October 28, 2025

October Mayoral Proclamation

City Councilor Irwin M. Brown, left, Ward 5, and representatives of Boys & Girls Club of Salem, Marion, and Polk Counties, honor October as National Youth Substance Use Prevention Month and October 27-30 as Red Ribbon Week in Salem.

Substance use disorder has a profound and often tragic impact on individuals, families and the community, including decline of physical and mental health, the breakdown of families, the demands on public safety and health care systems and the overall safety, livability and strength of a community.

Youth prevention aims to stop use of all substances under the age of 21 and stop misuse of doctor-prescribed medications before it starts by strengthening protective buffers and reducing risk factors, addressing social determinants of health, being culturally responsive and supporting sustainable efforts.

(Pictured with Brown are youths from the Boys & Girls Clubs, and Anna Magana-Rivera, Erin Oliver, Chief Executive Officer; and Tony Stafford, Chief Operations Officer.)