Communities Talk What’s New articles share information to help event organizers plan, host, and evaluate events aimed at mobilizing a community around evidence-based prevention of underage drinking.
12/06/2018
The holiday season is a time for celebrating with family and friends. Unfortunately, those celebrations sometimes lead to drinking and driving. Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day is one of the deadliest and most dangerous times on America’s roadways. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 885 people lost their lives in traffic accidents involving a drunk driver during December 2017. Just as troubling, data from SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicates that almost 900,000 youth between the ages of 16 and 20 drove under the influence of alcohol last year. You can help prevent drinking and driving this holiday season with free resources from NHTSA’s national campaigns. These campaigns provide animated graphics, fact sheets, sample news released op-eds, and Spanish-language materials. • Buzzed Driving Is Drunk Driving • Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over In planning your 2019 Communities Talk Meeting to Prevent Underage Drinking consider addressing underage drunk driving. • Activities for teens in the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Drugged Driving Toolkit offer ideas for engaging youth in your prevention efforts. • Check out the new group chats about interactive online stories on the Ultimate Party Foul website. The Power of Partnerships and Sponsors Engaging partners and sponsors will help you build community support for Communities Talk events and increase your organizational capacity, saving you time and money. The Communities Talk website has valuable information to help you develop and maintain these relationships. • Establishing Strategic Partnerships for Communities Talk Meetings explains how to initiate, sustain, and reward partners. • Encouraging In-Kind Contributions for Communities Talk Meetings reveals roles for volunteers and includes more tips for maximizing in-kind contributions. How do other communities work with partners? The Anaconda Community Intervention Success Story explains how a local partner provided music, food, and entertainment at their Communities Talk event.