Healthy Androscoggin: New Technology and Media Coverage Multiply Androscoggin County, Maine’s Town Hall Reach

Androscoggin County, Maine

INTRODUCTION
Maine high school students who believe it is easy for them to get alcohol are three times more likely to drink, according to the 2013 Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (MIYHS) (PDF | 104KB). In Androscoggin County (PDF | 364KB), the MIYHS reported that nearly 64 percent of high school students believe it would be “sort of easy” or “very easy” to obtain alcohol.

Healthy Androscoggin is a coalition serving the Auburn-Lewiston area of Maine, which tackles the community’s challenges with underage drinking. The coalition works with Androscoggin County’s Alcohol Enforcement Team, provides retail server and seller trainings to prevent alcohol sales to minors, promotes the “Parents Who Host, Lose the Most” campaign to encourage adult support for social host laws, and supports “Project Unite!,” a community-based substance abuse prevention committee.

Healthy Androscoggin County/Project Unite! has found SAMHSA-supported Town Hall Meetings to be an important and effective way to educate and mobilize the community.

EVENT DESCRIPTION
Healthy Androscoggin leveraged its 2014 Town Hall Meeting as an opportunity to address lax attitudes toward underage drinking and lack of awareness of social host law fines among adults in the community. In addition, the coalition launched a new texting tool to stop underage drinking called androTip. Supported by the Maine Office of Substance Abuse and a grant from the federal Office of National Drug Control Policy, androTip allows users to alert local law enforcement to underage drinking and other suspicious activities.

The county police department’s Alcohol Enforcement Team co-sponsored the May 12, 2014, event at the Auburn Public Library. The presentation featured a discussion on the latest state and county data concerning underage drinking. In addition, law enforcement officials discussed the challenges of underage drinking in Androscoggin County and demonstrated the use of the androTip tool.

MEASURES OF SUCCESS
The Sun Journal, the region’s major newspaper with an estimated 10,000 daily readers, ran a detailed report of the Town Hall Meeting, resulting in Healthy Androscoggin receiving more questions from the community and offers of volunteer support. In addition, law enforcement reported receiving several “text-a-tips” immediately following the Town Hall Meeting.

NEXT STEPS
Based on the androTip collaboration and other successful efforts involving local law enforcement, Healthy Androscoggin is planning to work even more closely with police and sheriffs offices to target underage access to alcohol in the county. The coalition also plans to increase its support for compliance checks and education of local retailers regarding sales and service to minors. For future Town Hall Meetings, Healthy Androscoggin intends to develop enhanced marketing and promotional strategies for increasing its live audience participation.

CONTACT
Dan Morin
morinda@cmhc.org
(207) 795–5990

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