Data Drives Agenda on Underage Drinking Prevention

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Armstrong‒Indiana‒Clarion Drug and Alcohol Commission, Inc.
Rimersburg, Pennsylvania

INTRODUCTION
The Pennsylvania State Commission on Crime and Delinquency conducts the Pennsylvania Youth Survey biennially. Its 2013 survey found that alcohol is the number one drug of choice for 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in the state, with 12.8 percent of Clarion County students reporting binge drinking, a rate higher than the binge drinking rate for the state as a whole (9.7 percent). On behalf of Armstrong‒Indiana‒Clarion Drug and Alcohol Commission (AICDAC), Inc., the Youth Council at the Union High School Union School District in Rimersburg coordinated an Underage Drinking Prevention Town Hall Meeting with support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Carrie Bence, AICDAC Deputy Director, said that holding the Town Hall Meeting in April, which is Alcohol Awareness Month, was good timing because prom season and the end of the school year would soon follow. The number of teens who initiate alcohol use each month increases during June and July.

EVENT DESCRIPTION
AICDAC promoted the Town Hall Meeting through the Union High School Union School District by sending flyers home with students and putting event details on the school website. The school’s “All Call” system was used to inform parents of the Town Hall Meeting. The commission also promoted the event through its Facebook page, local newspapers, and the Explore Clarion website.

The Town Hall Meeting program featured a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) presentation of MADD’s Power of Parents program. Power of Parents materials were provided to help participating parents learn how to talk with their children about underage drinking. A panel discussed state findings and solicited audience feedback about underage drinking in the community. Panelists included law enforcement, emergency medical services, a prevention specialist, students from the high school, AICDAC, and a parent who lost a child to drunk driving. The event also launched the “Parents Who Host Lose the Most” campaign locally, to make area adults aware of their legal liability regarding underage alcohol use.

MEASURES OF SUCCESS
Involvement of students from the Union High School Union School District in the planning, promotion, and conducting of the Town Hall Meeting brought a youth perspective to the community dialogue. The students’ accounts of peer pressure to drink and of alcohol abuse among classmates helped parents recognize the seriousness of the problem.

NEXT STEPS
AICDAC has introduced the “Parents Who Host the Most Lose the Most” campaign to six new schools in Clarion County and is planning ongoing student support for the campaign during the next school semester. Meanwhile, AICDAC is gearing up for its first Youth Leadership Conference in Clarion County, where there will be additional opportunities to deliver underage drinking prevention messages to teens and their families.

CONTACT
Carrie Bence
cbence@aicdac.org

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