LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — We're just days away from the start of school and the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office wants to make sure teachers and students are ready with their third annual Back-to-School Bash.
The event will take place on Saturday, July 29, at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds on 2405 Sugarloaf Parkway from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Teachers with an I.D. can receive free school supplies and students can get a free backpack.
This year, the sheriff's office has partnered with Live Healthy Gwinnett to offer free health screenings -- 6,000 bookbags will be packed with various supplies.
Gwinnett County Sheriff Keybo Taylor said this event is just one of the many ways that the department is working to make sure families in Gwinnett County know that they're more than just law enforcement officers.
“If I had to have one takeaway with this agency is that we are the sheriff’s office, and we are here for anyone and everybody," Taylor said.
Taylor said the department has spent the last two years using community outreach events to offer residents mental health, anti-bullying and anti-gang resources.
The department also hosts an annual Sheriff’s Cup Invitational football game, where they teach middle school-aged children about the dangers of gangs and bullying, as well as launched a mental health task force to address mental health head to avoid criminalization.
The sheriff says all of this is to make sure the community understands they are here for Gwinnett's children and families.
Members of the mental health task force and leaders from other community outreach programs are expected to be at the Back-to-School Bash next weekend.