Washington’s Coalition for Healthy and Safe Communities were among hundreds of individuals and groups that recently took part in the Squash the Stigma social media challenge.

The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ) reports that the online campaign, in which advocates filled balloons with water, wrote stigmatizing words or beliefs on each balloon, and then recorded themselves squashing the balloons, reached over 150,000 people across the state and country, informing them of the harmful effects of stigma and the need to break through this barrier.

In their videos, participants then nominated three people to complete the challenge within the following 48 hours and posted it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #SquashTheStigma.

“Stigma is one of the greatest barriers we face when it comes to the disease of addiction,” PDFNJ Executive Director Angelo Valente said. “Stigmatizing words and labels damage a person’s self-esteem, their relationships with loved ones, and also prevent those suffering from substance use disorder from accessing treatment.”

“If we want to resolve the addiction crisis in New Jersey we must address and eliminate this pervasive stigma,” said Valente. “Doing so requires us to become more consciously aware of the language we use when we are speaking about substance use disorder and those who are affected by it.”

You can watch the Coalition’s video on Facebook or search for more videos using the hashtag, #squashthestigma.