50 People To Know: N.J. Teen Stephanie Reifman Starts Heroin Awareness Program
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- This week in 50 People to Know, we share the story of Stephanie Reifman.
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The 16-year-old junior at Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, New Jersey has never touched heroin, but she has become something of an expert on the matter.
Reifman created a heroin awareness program called HAPPY Week, which stands for "heroin addiction prevents people's years," where she goes into schools across Bergen County and warns students about the dangers of the drug.
She even invites recovering addicts to speak about their stories.
"To see them come up to the speakers afterwards and ask their own personal questions, to have seen kids cry and walk out of the assembly before because of how much it's gotten to them, I think that it's been able to get to them and really grab their attention," Reifman says. "So it's actually really incredible."
She says she hopes she can turn her program into a type of curriculum she can share with other students who want to help spread her message.