SSTAR staff members Laura Washington and Mike Aguiar from the B.O.L.D. (Building Our Lives Drug-free) Coalition were on hand with the Fall River Police and the Director of Health and Human Services for the National Prescription Medication Take-back event held on May 30, 2015 at the Blessed Trinity Parish Church on Plymouth Avenue. Sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA of US Dept. of Justice), the national event was a collaborative effort to remove potentially dangerous controlled substances from household medicine cabinets. One hundred $5 gift certificates, good at Stop & Shop Supermarkets, were given out to the first 100 contributors. Health and Human Services Director Henry Vaillancourt, MD, reported that at least four large bags had been collected after the first two hours when all of the gift certificates had been distributed. Fall River Police Detective Norbert Pacheco pointed out that the drop box now fills up every few weeks. BOLD, who sponsored the event, is interested in getting all types of medication out of the hands of young people. Click here for a six-minute video taken at the event. Click here for a similar event that BOLD sponsored in 2013. For more information, call Mike Aguiar at 508-324-3598. (Row three, center photo courtesy of Mike Aguiar)

(Top row) Sue Mathias brings a bag of outdated medications and drops them in the box as directed by Health and Human Services Director Henry Vaillancourt, MD, who poses with Detective Pacheco, Mike Aguiar and Blessed Trinity Parish pastor Rev. Robert Nemkovich, Jr. and his wife, Kathy. (Row two) Retired school teacher Paul Pietraszek talks with SSTAR's Partnership for Success 2 Director Laura Washington while Dr. Vaillancourt and Mr. Aguiar continue to receive medications and distribute gift cards. (Row three) WSAR Radio Talk Show Host Hector Gauthier does live interviews Dr. Vaillancourt, State Representatives Alan Silvia, Carole Fiola and Paul Schmid, and then Ms. Washington. (Bottom row) Ms. Washington receives medications and passes out a disposal kit and Dr. Vaillancourt gives out the last of 100 gift certificates to Priscilla Brightman..