BEYOND THE BELL PARTNERS WITH BIBB COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE TO HOST ‘WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU SEE BLUE’ TOWN HALL EVENT – SATURDAY JANUARY 22

MACON, GA. – December 7, 2021 – Beyond The Bell Macon-Bibb County has partnered with the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office to host the “What To Do when You See Blue” town hall event at 11 a.m. Saturday, January 22 at Glorious Hope Baptist Church, located at 3805 Napier Ave. Macon, Ga. 31204. Law enforcement and leaders of the Macon-Bibb community will inform attendees about what to expect and the processes of getting stopped by a police officer with advice on what to do.

Lt. Reggie Thomas of the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office will be the featured speaker for the event and will be joined by Judy Gordon, Neighborhood Watch Coordinator for the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, and Jeremy Grissom, Safety Net Project Specialist for the Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office. There will be a Q&A session with all three speakers following the event and lunch will be provided to attendees as well as free information materials.

“It can be intimidating for citizens, especially youth, to interact with law enforcement due to a lack of understanding and trust. The goal of this free town hall event is to encourage honest conversation and positive interactions between law enforcement and the citizens of Macon-Bibb County,” said Executive Director Sandra Dean. “We are thrilled to be working with the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office to inform our community’s youth about what to do when they interact with law enforcement.”

Beyond The Bell, along with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) provides tools and evidence-based strategies to train, educate, and support youth and families in the prevention of alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco use and abuse.

Beyond The Bell offers programs to the community including the “Botvin Life Skills Training”, which consists of a 7-week groundbreaking substance abuse and violence prevention program which is designed to promote mental health and positive youth development. They also implement the “Positive Social Norms” campaign which focuses on the fact that people’s behavior often is influenced by their perceptions of what is “normal” or “typical.” The problem is that people usually severely misperceive the typical behaviors or attitudes of their peers. For example, if people believe that the majority of their peers drink, then they are more likely to drink. Using social norms marketing to inform people that most of their peers do not drink can potentially lead them to avoid drinking.

For more information about Beyond The Bell and its programs/resources, please visit www.beyondthebellkids.org.

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For media inquiries, please contact Lesley Francis at lesley@lesleyfrancispr.com, Allie Robinson at allie@lesleyfrancispr.com or 912-547-3100 or the team at 912-417-LFPR (5377).