Louisiana Blue, HOPE Initiative Announce 2025 PSA Video Contest to Raise Awareness About Drug Use Dangers
Zachary High School team named 2024 winner

BATON ROUGE – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana (Louisiana Blue) and the Capital Region Crime Stoppers HOPE (Heroin Outreach Prevention and Education) Initiative are hosting a contest for high school students to create public service announcement videos about the dangers of drug use. The team with the winning PSA will earn a cash prize, and Crime Stoppers will share their video across social media channels.

 

Overdose deaths in the Baton Rouge area are among the highest in the country. Although overdose deaths have made a slight decline in the Baton Rouge area, reported overdose rates have not gone down. We are seeing people of all ages, backgrounds and income levels abusing vapes, marijuana, heroin, cocaine and misusing prescription opioids.

 

How to Enter the PSA Video Contest

 

         ·        High school students can form small teams to produce a PSA video that focuses on the dangers and consequences of abusing prescription opioids, fentanyl, vapes, heroin, marijuana and/or other drugs. The video must be three minutes or shorter.

 

         ·        Register a team of three to five students by Friday, Jan. 17, 2025.

         ·        Teacher sponsors must upload PSA videos and forms by Feb. 28, 2025.

 

Louisiana Blue and HOPE Initiative will announce the 2025 PSA contest winners at an award event on Tuesday, March 18, 2025.

 

"Empowering our youth to become advocates for change, the HOPE Initiative shines a light on the dangers of drugs and vaping,” said Jonny Dunnam, executive director of Capital Region Crime Stoppers. “Through creativity and awareness, high school students are crafting a safer future for their peers. Join us in supporting their voices as we work together to create a healthier, drug-free community."

 

Learn more about the contest and register at HOPE PSA Contest – Capital Region Crime Stoppers – Louisiana.

 

2024 PSA Contest Winners

 

Zachary High School’s Student Media team, Dominic Young, Emani Hawkins and William Nelson, won first place in the 2024 contest with their PSA. The short video depicts a student’s first-time trying drugs and his quick descent into addiction, focusing on the addictiveness of drugs even if only taken once.

 

St. Amant High School’s Terrifying Truths team took second place with their video. This black and white video is a first-person perspective of a young man talking to a friend who regularly smokes and vapes about the dangers of both.

 

Third place was shared by St. Amant High School’s Gator Creators and McKinley Senior High School’s McKinley Panthers. St. Amant High School’s entry features interviews with two students whose parents struggled with drug addiction. McKinley Senior High School’s video, “Don’t Be the One,” features students getting ready for graduation and sharing statistics about drug use.

 

You can see all of the 2024 winners on the Capital Region Crime Stoppers YouTube channel.

 

Substance Abuse Increasing in Louisiana

 

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2,376 people died of drug overdoses in Louisiana in 2022. That year, Louisiana’s drug overdose death rate was higher than the overall rate for the United States. Fatal overdoses from all drugs increased by 48% between 2019 and 2020 in Louisiana. Fatal overdoses from opioids rose 69% during the same period, and overdoses from synthetic opioids increased by 117% from 2019 to 2020 in Louisiana.

 

If you or someone you know is struggling with a substance use disorder, please know there is help out there. Call 988 to be connected with services in your area.

 

Learn more about the inherent and often hidden dangers of illicit fentanyl at www.lablue.com/toorisky.

 

About Louisiana Blue

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, or Louisiana Blue, is committed to our mission to improve the health and lives of Louisianians. Founded in New Orleans in 1934, we are a tax-paying not-for-profit health insurer with offices in every major region to serve our customers. We have been recognized for the past six years as an honoree of The Civic 50, named by Points of Light as one of the 50 most community-minded companies in the United States. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. We invite all Louisianians to visit our website at lablue.com or talk to us on social media @MyLouisianaBlue.​

About the HOPE Initiative

The HOPE Initiative empowers our youth to advocate for a drug-free future by raising awareness about the dangers of drugs and vaping. As high school students creatively craft a safer community, we encourage you to support their voices and call Crime Stoppers with any information on felony crimes, remaining anonymous and eligible for a cash reward if your tip leads to an arrest.