ALLENTOWN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Law Enforcement Against Drugs & Violence (L.E.A.D.), a nationwide nonprofit that works with communities to help students understand the dangers of drugs and violence, has entered into a partnership with National Night Out (NNO), an annual community-building campaign that brings the police and neighbors together under positive circumstances, this year. While working together on their shared mission to bridge the gap between law enforcement and communities, L.E.A.D. and NNO will include one another’s logos on their materials, and NNO will distribute L.E.A.D.’s literature to organizations that host NNO events.
On the first Tuesday in August, millions of neighbors take part in NNO across thousands of communities from all fifty states, U.S. territories and military bases worldwide, although Texas and other select areas celebrate on the first Tuesday of October. Last year, there were 16,621 NNO events, where neighborhoods hosted block parties, festivals, parades, cookouts and several other community events with visits from safety demonstrations and emergency personnel.
“It was important for us to partner with an organization that’s also working to improve the bond between law enforcement and communities, so we’re confident that NNO is the perfect match,” said Nick DeMauro, CEO of L.E.A.D. “Every day, we have police officers across the country that are strengthening their relationship with young students by teaching them why avoiding drugs and violence is vital. We’re thrilled to work with NNO to promote our shared belief in police-community relationships and see how partnering with them continues to change the way that people among various communities interact with the police.”
L.E.A.D. provides services “on the street” and “in the classroom” as it brings law enforcement and communities closer together. The “in the classroom” program is taught by 3600 trained instructors in 41 states. L.E.A.D. has a proven effective, law enforcement-focused anti–drug, anti–violence curriculum for K-12 students in the U.S. The L.E.A.D. curriculum is taught over the course of a 10-week program to educate youth on how they can make smart decisions without the involvement of drugs or violence.
“Since the organization’s main mission is to help communities understand that police officers are people they should rely on rather than feel angst towards, we couldn’t think of a better partnership than with L.E.A.D.,” said Executive Director of the National Association of Town Watch (NATW) and Creator of NNO, Matt Peskin. “We appreciate that L.E.A.D. is using education on such a prominent subject matter, the dangers of drugs and violence, to better the relationship between police forces and communities. We’re excited to attend their annual drug and violence prevention conference later this month, and we look forward to continuing improving police-community bonds together.”
About L.E.A.D.
L.E.A.D. provides the leadership, resources and management to ensure law enforcement agencies have the means to partner with educators, community leaders, and families. L.E.A.D. succeeds by providing proven and effective programs to deter youth and adults from drug use, drug related crimes, bullying and violence. L.E.A.D. is committed to reinforcing the mutual respect, goodwill and relations between law enforcement and their communities. For more information, visit https://www.leadrugs.org/.
About NNO
NNO is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to create safer, more caring neighborhoods. NNO enhances the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community. The organization provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances through its community-building events with seminars, activities for youth, exhibits and much more. For more information, visit https://natw.org/.
