Voices for Change Town Hall Meeting in Virginia Beach Engages Youth in Underage Drinking Prevention
Youth and Community Action Team (YCAT)
Virginia Beach, Virginia
INTRODUCTION
Virginia Beach, Virginia, is a coastal city of about a half million people, and is home to several large military bases, colleges, and universities. The area also attracts tens of thousands of adolescents and young adults for spring break and summer vacations.
To address underage drinking prevention challenges in the community, the Prevention Unit of the Virginia Beach Department of Human Services provides staff and support for the Youth and Community Action Team (YCAT). YCAT seeks to reduce substance abuse among youth and young adults by working collaboratively with families and the community. It is based on a model offered by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America that calls for 12 sectors of the community to be represented in community-based organizations that are engaged in substance abuse prevention. The sectors are law enforcement, fraternal and faith groups, colleges and schools, youth, families and parents, youth-serving agencies, other organizations involved in reducing substance abuse, government agencies with expertise in substance abuse, media, health care professionals, businesses, and civic and volunteer associations.
YCAT has found holding Town Hall Meetings to be an effective way to heighten public awareness of adolescent alcohol and other substance abuse to mobilize community action.
EVENT DESCRIPTION
On May 17, 2014, YCAT hosted a Town Hall Meeting at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts at Town Center in Virginia Beach. The organization chose to hold the event during mid-day on a Saturday to make it as convenient as possible for the youth it hoped to engage. In addition to publicizing the event in several ways—through the local City of Virginia Beach public access television channel, several community websites, and a flyer—YCAT also offered community service hours for youth who participated.
At the start of the meeting, YCAT held a question-and-answer forum to collect data about local underage drinking and the readiness of community members to support environmental changes. Next, there was a panel discussion to review consequences of adolescent alcohol involvement and evidence-based prevention measures. Panelists included a high school student, representatives from the special prosecutions trial team (which handles alcohol-related charges), representatives from the Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, a substance abuse therapist, a critical care and flight nurse, and representatives from local law enforcement. The day ended with the Virginia Beach Police Department Crime Prevention Unit’s presentation on drinking and driving dangers, “Every 15 Minutes.”
MEASURES OF SUCCESS
More than 75 people attended the meeting, with roughly two-thirds of the audience being teens, despite a heavily publicized alcohol-related festival taking place in a neighboring community at the same time. The large turnout was matched with enthusiastic participation from the audience, helping YCAT capture valuable information for its prevention planning. After the meeting, YCAT noticed increased youth representation at monthly YCAT meetings, as several Town Hall Meeting participants began attending regularly. Additionally, YCAT anticipates that city laws and policies will adapt to continue to address underage access to alcohol.
NEXT STEPS
As YCAT moves toward increasing promotion and implementation of evidence-based environmental prevention strategies in the Virginia Beach community, the Youth Community Survey data and anecdotal feedback recorded at the Town Hall Meeting are helping to shape the coalition’s planning.
CONTACT
Ava Lawrence
alawrenc@vbgov.com
(757) 385-0816
ADDITIONAL CONTACT
Suzanne Phelps, YCAT Co-Chair
(757) 385-0824
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