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Sixth Town Hall Meeting Cements Student Collaboration

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South Mountain WORKS Coalition
Phoenix, Arizona

Introduction
According to the 2012 Arizona Youth Survey, an increasing percentage of 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students believe that drinking alcohol every day presents a moderate to great risk, and they are significantly reducing their alcohol use. Underage drinking rates among students in Maricopa County were close to or lower than the statewide averages. The rate of binge drinking, for example, was 15.4 percent, compared with a statewide rate of 15.7 percent.

Maricopa County is dominated by Phoenix, the most populous state capital in the United States. The South Mountain WORKS Coalition is committed to bringing together the community and its resources to reduce alcohol use among youth (ages 12–20) in the South Mountain community, and its membership consists of representatives from 12 sectors of the community. The coalition has participated in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) national Reach Out Now Teach-In initiative, sponsored an event in support of SAMHSA’s Too Smart To Start program, and began holding underage drinking prevention Town Hall Meetings in 2009. The coalition found Town Hall Meetings to be so effective in their efforts to engage young people in the South Mountain community that they have held these events yearly, soliciting alternative support in years when SAMHSA stipends were not offered.

Event Description
For their sixth annual Youth Town Hall Meeting on the dangers of underage drinking, the South Mountain WORKS Coalition selected Thursday afternoon, April 10, 2014, as the culmination of a series of activities targeting local students with underage drinking prevention messages and tools. Days prior to the Town Hall Meeting, students at the host location, South Mountain High School, viewed a demonstration on the dangers of teen drinking and driving that was sponsored by the school’s chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions, or SADD. On April 9, hours before the Town Hall Meeting, the Phoenix Police Department announced that, for the second year in a row, South Mountain High School had won first place (with a cash prize of $5,000) in the department’s annual “Too Young to Drink: Stop Underage Drinking” public service announcement contest. The coalition had already planned to showcase the video as a feature of the April 10 Town Hall Meeting, and introducing the school as the contest winner added extra excitement. In addition, participating teens engaged in a student-emceed discussion with a panel consisting of law enforcement, educators, a parent, youth, and a legal system representative to address the day’s theme: “Let’s Talk About the Risks of Underage Drinking.” Donated door prizes, such as Starbucks gift cards, and the school’s offer of classroom credit for attendance also helped attract a large audience.

Measures of Success
Approximately 90 members of the South Mountain High School student body participated. The Town Hall Meeting’s effectiveness cemented long-term coalition efforts to establish a formal underage drinking prevention collaboration with the school’s student government. As initial proof of the school’s support for the coalition, the student government voted to host an underage drinking prevention Town Hall Meeting annually. While the police department’s contest announcement drew media attention away from the Town Hall Meeting, local media did attend the meeting and expressed interest in covering the coalition’s future underage drinking prevention activities.

Next Steps
The South Mountain WORKS Coalition will train leaders of the high school’s student government in underage drinking prevention, using the SAMHSA Strategic Prevention Framework as its model. For these and other youth trainings aimed at developing youth empowerment in prevention, the coalition uses the Dover Youth to Youth toolkit. The strong positive response at South Mountain High School reinforces the coalition’s determination to use Town Hall Meetings as a vehicle for engaging young people in their community in underage drinking prevention activities.

Contact
Lauriane Hanson
laurianeh@sbhservices.org


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