Everything is in the toolkit — just print and go. Let’s make this week impactful without adding extra work to your plate. 

Your belief in someone may be the first they’ve ever felt. It can be the spark that saves their life. 

🔴  START HERE

Justice-Involved Red Ribbon Week Toolkit

Welcome to the Toolkit

You’ve just opened something special. This toolkit was built from the ground up to bring Red Ribbon Week into the spaces where it’s needed most — jails, prisons, and reentry programs — and to make it genuinely easy for your team to run.

Everything is ready to go. No extra curriculum planning. No searching the internet. Just open the day’s folder, print what you need, and let the conversations begin.

This is a week about hope. Healing. Second chances. And the radical belief that every person in your facility deserves to be seen — not as a case number, but as a human being still writing their story.

How to Use This Toolkit

The toolkit is organized into folders by day of the week. Here’s the simple flow:

• Step 1 — Read the Daily Outline  Each day’s folder has a one-page outline telling you exactly what’s included and how to run the day.

• Step 2 — Print or Post the Flyer  Each day has a ready-to-go Activities Flyer. Post it on the unit or distribute it to participants.

• Step 3 — Distribute the Materials  Hand out journal prompts, worksheets, and any supplemental reading.

• Step 4 — Encourage Engagement  Invite participants to journal, discuss, take the pledge, or call home.

• Step 5 — Wrap Up on Friday Have participants complete the Reflection sheet and the Week Survey to close out strong.

You do not need to run every activity. Pick what fits your facility, your population, and your time. Even one or two activities a day makes a difference.

Tips for Staff Running the Week

• You don’t need to do everything. Even one activity per day counts.

• Read the Daily Outline first — it takes 2 minutes and gives you the full picture.

• Journal prompts are voluntary. Some participants will engage deeply; others won’t. Both are okay.

• Harm Reduction materials (Thursday) are especially important for participants near release.

• The Relapse Prevention Plan on Friday is a high-value tool in the kit. Give it time.

• Wearing red on Friday is a small act that means a lot to participants.

• If you have time for only one thing — post the Community Call to Action and read it out loud.

 Each day below has clickable links to open or download that day's materials directly. Just click, print, and go. 

🔴 Monday Activities

✔️ Learn & Reflect

• Learn the history of Red Ribbon Week and the story of DEA Agent Kiki Camarena.

• Complete today’s journal prompts to reflect on your commitment to a drug-free life.

🏠 Family Involvement

• Call home and talk with your family or children about living drug free.

• Take the Drug-Free Pledge together — as a family commitment.

• Sign an Adult/Parent Drug-Free Pledge and send a copy home if possible.

🗣️ Peer Support

• Share what you learned today with a peer or cellmate.

• Talk to a staff member about your commitment to a drug-free life.

• Ask someone: “What does recovery mean to you?”

🔴 Tuesday Activities

📚 Education & Resources

• Explore resources on mental health, substance abuse, and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).

• Learn how to talk to your children about drugs and making healthy choices.

• Read the Open Talk resources on stigma, dual diagnosis, and mental health.

📝 Personal Reflection

• Write your story — share your experience, growth, or reasons for living drug free.

• Complete today’s journal prompts to reflect on choices, goals, and resilience.

🗣️ Open Conversation

• Start a conversation with a peer about how drugs have impacted your life or community.

• Discuss: What does it mean to break the cycle of addiction in your family?

• Share one thing you wish someone had told you earlier about substance use.

🔴 Wednesday Activities

📘 Support & Education

• Explore available resources for substance abuse recovery and treatment options.

• Learn tips for creating and maintaining healthy habits that stick.

• Read the Coping Skills sheet and identify 2–3 strategies that work for you.

🏃‍♀️ Health & Wellness

• Start planning an exercise routine that supports mental and physical health.

• Use a blank weekly calendar to structure your days with intention and purpose.

• Begin the 30-Day Gratitude Challenge — write down one thing you’re grateful for today.

📝 Personal Growth

• Complete today’s journal prompts focusing on triggers, sobriety goals, and the future.

• Write one specific goal you want to achieve in the next 30 days.

• Picture the life you want — and take one step toward it today.

🔴 Thursday Activities

💊 Harm Reduction & Safety

• Learn about Naloxone (Narcan) — what it is, how to use it, and why it saves lives.

• Understand how opioid tolerance changes during incarceration and what that means after release.

• Read the Harm Reduction Strategies sheet and identify steps you can take to stay safer.

🔁 Rebuilding & Reentry

• Review the Reentry Resources sheet for support after release.

• Learn recovery language — addiction, harm reduction, trauma-informed care, and more.

• Ask: What’s one thing I can do to protect myself in the first two weeks after release?

💔 Emotional Healing

• Complete pages from the Grief & Loss Workbook to process difficult emotions and experiences.

• Use today’s journal prompts to reflect, release, and begin rebuilding.

🔴 Friday Activities

🛡️ Relapse Prevention

• Create your personal Relapse Prevention Plan — identify your triggers, coping strategies, and support people.

• Share your plan with a trusted person — a family member, peer, or staff member.

• Review: What would you do in the first 24 hours after release to protect your sobriety?

📝 Personal & Group Reflection

• Complete today’s journal prompts to process growth and what this week has meant to you.

• Fill out the “My Week in Reflection” worksheet to honor your progress.

• Read one of the poems from today’s folder aloud — alone or in a group.

❤️ Show Support

• Encourage staff, peers, and family to wear red as a visible commitment to drug-free living.

• Write a word or phrase on your red ribbon that represents your commitment to recovery.

• Say this out loud or write it down: “I am more than my past. I am still writing my story.”

You don’t need a title or a big budget. You need presence, consistency, and the courage to see someone’s worth when they can’t yet see it themselves. Thank you for showing up.