October is a great month! Children are back into the swing of things at school, the weather starts to change, and of course, Halloween is right around the corner! If you happen to live in New York State, the week before Halloween has been declared “Rose Brucia Stranger Safety Awareness Week” by Governor Cuomo. This special week is the perfect opportunity for your local elementary school to use the free Stranger Safety Awareness Program which consists of instructional videos and corresponding lesson plans, one for each day of the week, leading up to the most important stranger safety awareness event of the year…Halloween!

Here is a look at one of the videos which actually speaks to children about what to do to stay safe on Halloween.

[INSERT VIDEO HERE]

Please familiarize your children with a few basic stranger safety tips before you and they head out to trick-or-treat this year:

• Do not go trick-or-treating alone. Bring someone with you and use the buddy system
• Never go to houses that are not well-lit
• Try not to wander ahead of your group even though you are excited
• Always have an adult check your treats before you eat them
• If a stranger does approach you, move away from them immediately – run to a trusted adult

Halloween is all about having fun. Take some time to reinforce these tips so that you can be especially sure it will be the best yet!