Justin Randall. (Photo/John Cottone, Images Photography)
DANSVILLE – Former Section V athlete Justin Randall Jr. has a message to share with Dansville’s generous teens. Instead of playing football, basketball, and tennis, he shares his personal story of what drinking alcohol and driving a car cost him. Randall has lived life from a wheelchair for over 30 years as a result of the decision to drink and drive, and is now unable to walk or speak with his voice.
According to a press release from Justin’s sister, Salome Ferraro, the teens will join Justin on Thursday in the office of Dawn Landon, Council on Alcohol and Substance Abuse (CASA) and Livingston County School Based Prevention Specialist, to help Justin develop computer skills for using the applications on his ProSlate (iPad). The students will also help him archive his collection of photos and news clippings that he’s accumulated over the past several years. Landon says her hope for the students involved with the group, ‘Justin’s Posse,’ is that they will not only enjoy the hours they spend with him, but will gain an understanding and respect of what dedication, strength, and courage it takes for someone to move forward after facing such a life-altering experience the way Justin has.
“The school and students are always looking to participate in some type of outreach to the community,” said Riggi. “What is so significant in this case is that we have someone who will truly benefit from the kind of help the students can offer and will give so much back to our students in return in the form of a lasting friendship.”
At Justin’s first visit to Dansville, he was reunited with lifelong best friend and Dansville assistant principal for grades 10‐12, Richard Riggi. The reunion had been kept a surprise for Justin, who was unaware that Riggi had recently transferred to Dansville. Emotion gave way to a retelling of why Mr. Riggi felt bringing his friend to the school that day was so important. The two had been virtually inseparable until the fateful night of Randall’s crash, a fact that had been very hard for Riggi to accept. Randall provided assurance to his friend by spelling on his chart that they both had a job to do, Rick to be a principal and Justin to tell his story. Without the crash, neither might have gone on to do what they do today.
Riggi told students he never wants to see another young person, especially his Dansville students, to end up living the way his friend lives. After a few fun boyhood stories, as well as serious comments, Flanagan mentioned that Justin, who lives at a community home in Dansville, could benefit from some tech savvy teens sharing their expertise, and the students quickly volunteered themselves to help.
Justin’s presentation, “Think Before You Drive or Ride,” made possible through his relationship with New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), gives an honest and sensitive look at what lead him to make the decision to drink and drive. The program also helps some people to move beyond their own past negative drinking and driving experiences and make better decisions for the future.
Randall and his assistant Julie Flanagan also present at Stop DWI Victim Impact Panels in Monroe, Yates, and Steuben Counties and at Drinking and Driving Prevention Classes at Genesee Community College’s Best Center in Batavia, NY. The team also works with CASA support groups and address area college students through human services and drug and alcohol abuse counseling courses.
Randall stresses the “ripple effect’’ in his talks, encouraging people to share his story with friends, so that his message will spread past the original audience. When Justin visited Dansville High School last October, at Landon’s invitation, he had no idea how far the ripples he created that day would travel. Landon had been working with the students and specifically the SADD Club (Students Against Destructive Decisions), a peer-to-peer support group created to reduce alcohol and drug use through educational programs and positive peer interactions.
“I’m so proud that the students view him as a friend and are willing to offer their support,” said Landon. “The teens immediately felt a connection with Justin based on the fact that the club focuses on leading themselves and other students away from destructive decisions, such as the one that changed Justin’s life so many years ago. […] The qualities he will be sharing with these students is a real gift.”