Student Film “78”: Raising awareness of opiate crisis and engaging community in conversation
​
​Minisink Valley High School Students Against Destructive Decisions student-produced film titled after the number of American lives claimed by opioid overdoses each day, in 2014.
​
​ MVHS SADD produced “78” in the 2015-16 academic year. They based it largely on interviews with adults whose lives were vastly affected by substance abuse, beginning in adolescence. Among interviewees is a Minisink Valley bus driver who lost her son to an overdose. Other film content involves excerpts from essays students wrote in their English classes. The students’ film was produced with support from the Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Council, with funding provided by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services through the Orange County Youth Bureau and the United Way of the Dutchess-Orange region.