Fallon Ambulance has partnered with notMYkid in Boston to Distribute Free Home Drug Test Kits

With each new school year, kids will be required to pass a number of tests. None is more important than the test they’ll face when pressured to use drugs by their peers. Often a simple “no” isn’t enough to deflect peer pressure and allow a child to save face with their friends.

That’s why notMYkid, a nationally focused non-profit organization, is launching a “Back to School” substance abuse prevention campaign and encouraging parents to drug test their children. As part of the campaign, notMYkid is giving away home drug test kits, in more than a dozen U.S. cities, thanks to a donation from Waltham-based First Check, the leader in home diagnostic testing. Fallon Ambulance Service is helping with free kit distribution in the Boston market.

“Talking to your kids is only the first step,” said Debbie Moak, founder of notMYkid and a mother who faced her own teen son’s addiction. “We need parents to take actions -- get on the same page, set consistent boundaries, drug test their kids, participate in their lives and most importantly, serve as positive role models. Through years of experience, notMYkid has found utilizing a drug test in the home helps kids avoid peer pressure situations by empowering them to say ‘No, I can’t, my parents drug test me.’”

“First Check Diagnostics has been a proud national sponsor of notMYkid for more than 10 years, thanks to the organization’s proven track record of successfully educating parents. Too often, parents have the “not my kid” mentality, thinking their kids will never try drugs. The truth is, most parents don’t know their kids have begun using drugs until the kids are two years into the addictive behavior.

Fallon Ambulance Service will distribute the home drug test kits free of charge to parents. Fallon Ambulance has extended distribution on the home drug kits to next week.. They are available:

Date: Monday, Sept 15
Location: Fallon Ambulance’s Headquarters facility
111 Brook Road in Quincy
Time: 8:00am-4:30pm

Photo: Peter Racicot, Senior Vice President at Fallon Ambulance, is shown here with Shane Watson, spokesman for notMYkid and Lindsay St. Clair, interim Director and Director of Development for notMYkid.