Bridgewater Locals Form Group To Stop Drugs In Schools

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Bridgewater parents have formed a group to stop drug usage in their schools. The group, “Bridgewater Residents Stopping Drugs,” was formed last week on Facebook and already has more than 200 members.

“I started this group on Facebook because the community is completely blind to the amount of drug use in our schools,” said Bridgewater resident and mother Holly Lange. “I am trying to get enough people to notice the problem to push the school district and police department to take immediate action so that we can save lives.”

The spur to take action came after Hillsborough Funeral Director Mike Reilly’s speech to the Hillsborough Board of Education became viral. Reilly said he wanted “parents to take their heads out of the sand” and doesn’t want anymore business from overdose drug victims.

• See Reilly’s speech here - Hillsborough Funeral Director Is Tired Of Burying Drug Victims

“We’ve already had one overdose in Hillsborough, we don’t want one in Bridgewater,” Lange said. “Unfortunately, that’s when people step up. But we don’t want it to get to that point.”

Lange has reached out to the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional Board of Education at a previous meeting expressing her concerns. She was told to present it to BRHS Principal Mark Morrell.

Lange is meeting with Morrell at the end of January and as part of her case she is asking the community to speak with their students about drug usage in the schools. Several current and past students have already submitted letters to Lange talking about either their own drug experiences or what they have witnessed in the schools, specifically the high school.

The letters can be anonymous or can even be written by a parent. The deadline to submit the letters to Lange is Jan. 15 when she will then present them to Morrell as evidence of the ongoing issue in the high school.

Lange noted how a friend’s teen reported going into the high school bathroom on two occasions and finding another student using heroin.

“I sure as hell want this cleaned up before my daughter gets into the high school but it’s already starting the middle school too,” Lange said.

Lange said the group’s mission is not to get anyone in trouble or shine a negative light on any organization. Instead she wants to educate parents of the signs of potential users, what drugs look like, what parents can do if they find drugs, how to communicate with their children and more.

“I want to come up with a program soon,” Lange said. “My goal is to get immediate action before there is a death.”

To learn more or to join Bridgewater Residents Stopping Drugs visit the Facebook group here. To submit a letter to Lange about drug usage at the high school email brstoppingdrugs@gmail.com.

(Image by OpenClipart-Vectors via Pixabay)

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