Draper Communities That Care
Draper, Utah
Empowering Parents, Empowering Youth
Introduction
Draper, Utah, about 20 miles south of Salt Lake City, has more than
45,000 residents and is home to the main customer service centers for
Ebay, as well as the Utah State Prison. While underage drinking
prevalence is lower in Utah than in other states, a state survey
conducted every 2 years finds many children drinking in elementary
school. In 2013, about one out of four high-school seniors reported
binge drinking during the past 2 weeks.
In 2010, community leaders in Draper formed Drug-Free Draper (now
known as Draper Communities That Care). The group views underage
drinking as a particular problem in the community, with many local teens
reporting that they get alcohol from parents and other adults. Among
prevention measures the group supports is a social host law. Drug-Free
Draper saw a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA)-supported 2014 Town Hall Meeting as an opportunity to inform
parents of their responsibilities and their liability under the social
host law. This event also could be used to train parents in using the
tools of the ParentsEmpowered,
a statewide underage drinking prevention campaign launched in 2006 by
Utah’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, in collaboration with
the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health and several other
agencies.
Event Description
Parents Empowered was the theme Draper Communities That Care chose for
its May 6, 2014, Town Hall Meeting. The group set three broad objectives
for the event:
- Create awareness of the illusions of underage drinking among the youth population;
- Increase awareness of underage drinking prevention among parents, caregivers, and members of the community; and
- Create awareness of Drug Free Draper’s recent transition to Draper Communities That Care.
Steve Wright
of ParentsEmpowered.org was invited to work with participating parents.
Draper Communities That Care also engaged motivational speaker Brad Barton
to talk to the 5th- to 12th-grade students who attended. Barton used
magic tricks to address pro-drinking myths, or “illusions of underage
drinking” as he labeled them. Draper Mayor Troy Walker spoke to both the
parent and the student audiences during the evening’s program, and the
Draper City Council endorsed the event. Local law enforcement officials,
educators, faith leaders, and health professionals took part. Schools,
churches, and peer leadership teams all helped promote the Town Hall
Meeting. Area schools “incentivized” students by offering a number of
rewards to those who brought parents to the Town Hall Meeting, such as
removal of tardiness reports from their school records, or points to be
applied toward a school privilege.
Measures of Success
The Town Hall Meeting drew 60 parents and 91 youth participants.
Following the event, the Draper City Council expressed a newfound
commitment to preventing underage drinking and increased appreciation
for the challenges and achievements of Draper Communities That Care.
Brad Barton’s entertaining delivery of alcohol prevention messages
helped engage students from the community and created opportunities for
Draper Communities That Care to prepare to play an active part in
achieving its objectives. For example, Corner Canyon High School’s Peer
Leadership team formed a committee to volunteer on behalf of Draper
Communities That Care for the 2014–2015 school year. The
ParentsEmpowered training equipped parents to deliver science-based
information and clear no-use messages to their children and to support
the social host law and other policies intended to reduce youth access
to alcohol.
Next Steps
In addition to following through with the Corner Canyon High School
Peer Leadership team’s commitment, Draper Communities That Care plans to
begin assessment of the community’s risk and protective factors so they
can prioritize and address those risk factors that are most prevalent
in Draper. Draper Communities That Care will continue to educate the
community on social host laws at different events throughout the year,
such as prevention education series at schools.
Contact:
Gaile Dupree
g.dupree@draper.ut.us
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