NORRISTOWN — Opioid prevention strategies were on display as Montgomery County officials spotlighted student winners of a billboard contest.
More than 50 students from 10 different school districts submitted work to the annual Montgomery County Opioid Prevention Billboard contest, according to Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Jamila Winder, who said the contest garnered around 1,000 votes.
Established in 2017, the competition is hosted in conjunction with county’s family services and drug and alcohol offices. It aimed to cultivate artistic pieces that promote available resources to combat opioid addiction.
“Each year, Montgomery County high school students are invited to submit artwork displaying a positive message discouraging substance abuse and encouraging healthier lifestyles,” Winder said.
The issue of substance abuse is one that hits home for Winder.
“Unfortunately, my family has been affected by addiction, and I think if we could start early on with educating, and bringing awareness to the effects of opioids and substance abuse disorders in high school — and even in middle school — we can prevent someone from falling into addiction,” Winder said.
The top three contest winners were spotlighted during a Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting earlier this month. The winning selections are expected to be displayed on billboards across Montgomery County, however, the exact locations are not yet known.
Each submission listed the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s national hotline, which is 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Anika Rastogi, an 11th-grade student at Wissahickon High School, was awarded first place. Sabine Kim, an 11th-grade student at the Baldwin School came in second, and Madison Fiegel, a 10th-grade student at Upper Dublin High School received the third place designation.
Rastogi addressed the commissioners during the May 2 meeting and shared her appreciation for contestants being able to “express our thoughts through art.”
“As a student I’m very involved in my community, especially as a hospital volunteer. For the last few years I’ve been a volunteer, and through this, I’ve had the chance of communicating with patients and their families, and I’ve realized the urgency for awareness around this issue of drug and alcohol abuse and even overdose(s),” Rastogi said. “I became exposed to the effects of sadly overdose and even drug use.
“It was here that I recognized the need to create awareness about the detrimental effects, and this is what ultimately inspired my billboard design,” she continued. “By creating such a stark image of someone drowning in the ocean, unable to rise to the surface and simply call for help, I hoped to create awareness, and even advocate for support for those that are struggling with addiction and ultimately that’s what inspired me and the message that I hoped to send to everyone.”
“This work and this awareness is so critical and important as you’ve seen firsthand,” Winder said following Rastogi’s remarks.
Montgomery County Commissioners’ Vice Chairman Neil Makhija agreed, applauding her efforts and participation in this endeavor.
“I’m just grateful that you took the time to do this. You could be doing so many other things in 11th grade,” Makhija said, adding that “I hope that you consider when you think about your steps after school staying with this issue thinking about how we can address (the) mental health crisis, addiction crisis here locally and wherever you want to be.”
