GREENFIELD — Families shuffle up to the booth with a curiousness in their eyes.
Behind the pamphlet-filled table are stacks of goodies — backpacks, headphones and other colorful knickknacks — all free for the taking.
But there’s a catch, Tim Retherford advised the teens and adults in the crowd: there’s a bit of paperwork they have to fill out first.
Neighborhoods Against Substance Abuse, or NASA, which supports drug-free programming in Hancock County, annually sponsors a day at the Hancock County Fair. And while the nonprofit’s leaders visit with community members, sharing about their missions and hard work, they ask locals to fill out a survey about the drug-use issues they see in their neighborhoods.
The results of the survey give NASA a better understanding of what residents feel are the biggest substance-related problems facing the community, said Retherford, the director of the organization.
Fair-goers ages 14 and older are asked to complete the survey. It’s voluntary and anonymous, and the results serve as a supplement to the statewide surveys NASA gives to high school students every year, which tracks substance use among teens, he said.
Participants are asked to weigh in on whether they believe a list of substances — alcohol, cocaine, heroin, meth, marijuana and others — are somewhat or very much a problem in Hancock County.
They’re then asked a variety of yes or no questions about the substance use and abuse they see regularly. The inquires include whether the survey-taker knows adults and young people who abuse alcohol; knows adults and young people who perceive drugs and alcohol as harmless; or knows who to contact for help with a substance-abuse issue.
They’re also asked whether they know certain NASA initiatives, like the organization’s drug toss events, where residents can drop off old prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines to have them disposed of properly or the Underage Drinking Task Force, a team of officers that patrols the county and breaks up underage-drinking parties.
The participants’ answers to those questions help NASA’s team better understand where their focus needs to be, Retherford said.
Often it’s the law enforcement officers who work with NASA who know first what drugs and substances are an issue on the streets; but the surveys help NASA gauge the community’s awareness of those issues, he said. Once the results are tabulated, the team can come up with a plan to raise awareness through educational programs and other outreach efforts, he said.