Town Hall to offer tips on preventing binge drinking
Parents and community members interested in finding out what
they can do to curb teen binge drinking can attend a town hall
meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Hollister City Hall.
The event will have a panel discussion, including Hon. Steve R.
Sanders; Mayor Victor Gomez; Rebecca Jones, an emergency room nurse
from Hazel Hawkins Hospital; Colleen Grimes, the assistant
principal at Santa Ana and San Andreas Continuation Schools and
Chief of Police Jeff Miller.
Town Hall to offer tips on preventing binge drinking
Parents and community members interested in finding out what they can do to curb teen binge drinking can attend a town hall meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Hollister City Hall.
The event will have a panel discussion, including Hon. Steve R. Sanders; Mayor Victor Gomez; Rebecca Jones, an emergency room nurse from Hazel Hawkins Hospital; Colleen Grimes, the assistant principal at Santa Ana and San Andreas Continuation Schools and Chief of Police Jeff Miller.
“We are hoping the community will attend,” Renee Hankla, manager of the San Benito County substance abuse program, wrote in an e-mail, “including parents, teens, community leaders, business owners or anyone interested in learning more about the dangers of teen binge drinking.”
Hankla said one of the goals of the meeting is to have participants “demonstrate a commitment to assume greater responsibility for positive youth development” as well as help them understand the dangers of underage drinking and to organize a youth coalition.
She said one of the biggest challenges to curbing binge drinking is the lack of community education on the consequences of underage alcohol use, parental influence and cultural norms that accept the use of alcohol by underage drinkers.
“We will hear a powerful testimony from Debbie and Steve Allen who recently lost their daughter to acute alcohol poisoning,” Hankla said.
The couple founded the Shelby Lyn Allen Alcohol Poisoning Education Fund after their 17-year-old daughter died of acute alcohol poisoning in 2008. They will talk about common signs and symptoms, and what to do in case of an emergency.
The meeting will also discuss the social-host ordinance recently approved by the Hollister City Council. Hankla said in many cases other high-risk behaviors go hand in hand with teen drinking, including violence, fighting and sexual assault. Teen binge drinking can also lead to memory loss, overdose and even death in the most extreme cases.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse “Monitoring the Future: National Results on Adolescent Drug Use – Overview of Key Findings,” which polls students nationwide, at least one in 20 eighth-grade students reported being drunk at least once in the month before the survey was conducted.
Nearly one out of every seven 10th-graders reported being drunk in the month before the survey and two out of every seven 12th graders.
In San Benito County, 70 percent of 11th graders reported using alcohol in the past 30 days and 22 percent said they had participated in binge drinking.
Only half of the high school students interviewed said they thought drinking alcohol frequently is harmful.
“I would especially like to invite parents to attend (the meeting,)” Hankla said.
What parents can do to help:
– Establish a loving, trusting relationship with your child.
– Make it easy for your teen to talk honestly with you.
– Talk with your child about alcohol facts, reasons not to drink, and ways to avoid drinking in difficult situations.
– Keep tabs on your young teen’s activities, and join with other parents in making common policies about teen alcohol use.
– Develop family rules about teen drinking and establish consequences.
– Set a good example regarding your own alcohol use and your response to teen drinking.
– Encourage your child to develop healthy friendships and fun alternatives to drinking.
– Know whether your child is at high risk for a drinking problem; if so, take steps to lessen that risk.
– Know the warning signs of a teen drinking problem and act promptly to get help for your child.
– Believe in your own power to help your child avoid alcohol use.
What community members can do to help:
– When you see a clerk or waiter checking an ID, thank them for their effort.
– Ask my local stores and restaurants to refrain from using alcohol ads and displays that appeal especially to youth.
– Support local law enforcement when they prosecute adults who furnish alcohol to underage youth.
– Inform local law enforcement if I know where underage drinking is occurring or how teens are accessing alcohol.
– Support policies and laws that keep alcohol away from underage users.
– Write letters to the editor in support of local prevention efforts.
– Join a local community coalition to reduce teen alcohol abuse.
Provided by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism guide for parents.
