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Bond with loved ones for Family Day, discover why many individuals do not stay in treatment, get the latest CDC youth data, get ready for Take Back Day, and share a Red Ribbon Week contest. Jump to the article below.
Celebrate Family Day by Having Dinner Together
SAMHSA Suggests 'Strategies for Staying in Care'
CDC Releases Results from Youth Risk Behavior Survey
Mark Your Calendar: Take Back Day Is October 24
Enter the Red Ribbon Week Campus Video PSA Contest
We're Growing!
Celebrate Family Day by Having Dinner Together
 Before Red Ribbon Week (October 23-31) arrives, our partners at Informed Families are encouraging families to celebrate Family Day on September 28, 2026 by doing something simple but meaningful: sitting down and sharing a meal together.
Family meals create opportunities to slow down, listen, connect, and have conversations about the choices and challenges young people face.
This year, families can bring the hero theme right to the dinner table by asking:
- Who is your everyday hero, and why?
- What makes someone a real-life hero?
- How can you make a difference for someone this week?
- What would your superhero name be?
- What does “Be A Hero. Stay Drug Free.” mean to you?
These simple conversations can help families strengthen connections while reinforcing the Healthy Norms that support positive, drug-free choices.
SAMHSA Suggests 'Strategies for Staying in Care'
 Sustained treatment engagement is one of the biggest challenges in mental health
and substance use services. All too commonly, treatment disengagement rates are
the norm rather than the exception in serving individuals with serious mental illness
SAMHSA addresses the issue in a paper entitled Strategies for Staying in Care: Enhancing Engagement and Improving Treatment Retention in Mental Health Services.
CDC Releases Findings from Youth Risk Behavior Survey
 The CDC has published results from its Youth Health in Focus: Findings from the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2015–2025.
Youth Health in Focus is geared toward federal, state, and local decision-makers and health and education practitioners. It provides information and stories from CDC-funded school districts about five focus areas that affect adolescent health today and into adulthood:
- Dietary behaviors
- Physical activity
- Sleep
- Digital behaviors
- Mental health and suicide risks
The CDC also released findings about Alcohol and Other Drug Use, which can be viewed separately.
Mark Your Calendar: Take Back Day Is October 24
 The next National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is October 24, 2026, from 10am-2pm (local time) at locations nationwide.
This event, which happens twice a year, is a safe, convenient, and responsible way to dispose of unused or expired prescription drugs at locations in communities throughout the country.
The April 2026 Take Back Day brought in 642,410 lbs. (321 Tons) of medication. This brings the total amount of prescription drugs collected by DEA since the fall of 2010 to more than 21,034,225lbs. (10,517 Tons) of medication.
If your community does not have a Take Back location, encourage your local law enforcement to reach out to their DEA Diversion contact.
Enter the Red Ribbon Week Campus Video PSA Contest
 As part of the Red Ribbon Week campaign, DEA and SAMHSA cosponsor this Campus Video PSA Contest for colleges and universities to promote the importance of preventing alcohol and other drug misuse among college students.
After drug traffickers murdered DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena in 1985, Red Ribbon Week became an annual event highlighting the importance of preventing drug use and misuse in our nation’s schools and communities. Each year from October 23–31, people across the United States show their commitment to a healthy, drug-free lifestyle by wearing or displaying a Red Ribbon.
Individuals can submit their entries from September 8 to November 9, 2026 and the winners will be announced the following January during NASPA's Strategies Conference.
We're Growing!
The Together for Families network now includes hundreds of organizations and individuals from across the United States. Please encourage families and community members concerned about substance use to sign up for updates.
Also, if you work with an organization that has a free resource, information or event that you want families to know about, encourage them to join the Together for Families network by e-mailing togetherforfamilies@dea.gov.
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