Photo By Michael Strasser | Family members visit information booths with representatives from more than a dozen...... read more read more
FORT DRUM, N.Y. (July 22, 2026) -- Fort Drum community members donned leis for a tropical exploration of safety resources, games and family fun July 21 during the 6th annual Summer Safety Luau at the Exchange.
Hosted by the Family Advocacy Program (FAP), the event connected attendees with representatives from more than a dozen agencies and organizations. These included the Armed Forces Wellness Center, Army Substance Abuse Program, New Parent Support Program, Upstate New York Poison Center, and New York State Police.
Event organizers said the amount of safety education filling the main mall area ensured that everyone would leave with helpful tips and resources on topics such as:
“The Summer Safety Luau is about promoting home and family safety, based on the annual 101 Days of Summer campaign,” said Tom Wojcikowski, FAP educator. “While that is primarily an ASAP campaign, we work so closely with them that we could easily combine our programs to create an event that promotes overall safety for our community.”
Nicole Wetzel, FAP educator, used a collection of vials filled with liquids and objects to demonstrate how deceiving common household products can be. Each pair of vials featured items that appeared similar in size, shape or color, challenging attendees to guess which was potentially harmful and which was safe.
For example, while gummy candies are delicious to eat, some adult medications and supplements are produced in identical form that children shouldn’t ingest. Similarly, candy-coated chocolate and an iron pill may only be differentiated by small lettering that a young child can’t read.
“It’s easy for us to tell the difference, but not for a little kid,” Wetzel said. “The one that everybody’s been getting wrong is the windshield wiper fluid and the juice. But the whole display kind of puts the parents on the same level as kids and show them the hazards they might not have realized are there.”
Lynn Williams, ASAP specialist, attended the event to talk about alcohol safety and risk factors associated with outdoor activities. For younger attendees, she offered educational booklets on staying drug-free and provided colorful bracelets that light up.
“When they’re outside at night or camping, these will let mom and dad know where they are,” she said.
Wojcikowski said helping people become more safety-minded can reduce life stressors that might otherwise lead to undesirable outcomes, such as violence or suicidal ideations.
“With our mission of preventing family violence, I think having a safe home and the resources to do things the right way goes a long way toward reducing those instances,” he said.
The Family Advocacy Program offers free classes on stress and anger management, as well as a “Healthy Environments” workshop where family members can learn how to create safe, hazard-free homes.
“When we think about family violence, we often think it's already happening and that’s why we’re talking about it,” Wojcikowski said. “But prevention is about reducing stressors that contribute to family violence and suicide ideations.Not every family will experience an incident of child abuse or domestic violence, but we still want to give them resources they may not even know exist in case someone they know needs them.”
“Events like this Safety Luau provide parents with information to keep their children safe in their home and to build awareness of community partners,” he added. To learn more about FAP or ASAP classes, visit https://home.army.mil/drum/about/Garrison/directorate-human-resources/soldier-and-family-readiness-division-sfrd/SFRC or https://www.facebook.com/FortDrumSFRD. Information also be found using the My Army Post App (MAPA), which is free to download on the Google Play and Apple App Store.
| Date Taken: | 07.22.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 07.22.2026 10:52 |
| Story ID: | 570487 |
| Location: | FORT DRUM, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 18 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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