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Communities Talk: Prevent Underage Drinking
Hosted by:
Street Smart Youth Project
How does alcohol and other drug misuse affect your community?
The City of Atlanta is known for its tourist attractions, its proud athletics teams, and its historic heritage. However, several communities within Atlanta experience significant disparities compared to their neighbors—poverty, homelessness, blighted communities, drug trafficking, prostitution, 24-hour beer and wine retailers, and poor health outcomes. These factors may contribute to the use of substances among youth, young adults, and adults.
What challenge(s) did you face in planning your activity this year?
- Securing a second location
How did you overcome these challenges?
Unfortunately, the first location where we wanted to host our event informed us of a conflict that did not allow us to use their facility. We then contacted another partnering organization and were able to host our event at that location.
What are your next steps?
- Host follow-up meetings or activities
- Support new prevention policies, legislation, or social ordinances
Which Communities Talk resources (or other SAMHSA resources) were most helpful for your activity?
- StopAlcoholAbuse.gov website
- Communities Talk website
- Communities Talk toolkits
How did a Communities Talk event help you address those issues?
- Educated youth and parents
- Made making good health behavior choices fun and engaging
- Raised awareness of substance abuse and/or underage drinking issues in our community
How did your event make an impact on underage drinking in your community?
Parents and youth attended our substance use prevention event and participated in a round table discussion on the consequences of underage drinking, their environment, and methods to prevent substance use. They also participated in a quiz created and led by youth. Parents learned vital information on keeping their children safe and drug free. We plan to host another health education session with more parents and youth.
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