Prevention Council Calls Town Hall Meeting On Underage Drinking

By John Voket

Quickly-laid plans are underway by Newtown Prevention Council members and other officials to help parents better protect their children from dangers posed by peers who engage in alcohol and drug use. In a flyer headlined, “My kids don’t drink! …do they?” the local substance abuse action council is calling for parents, students, and school officials to attend the forum, scheduled for Thursday, April 6, from 7 to 9 pm, at Edmond Town Hall.

Discussing the most disturbing statistics from the recent substance abuse survey of local students, Prevention Council members gathered last week to determine future concentrations of focus for the local initiative that includes police, municipal, health, and education officials, as well as representatives from agencies including Parks and Recreation, Newtown Youth Services, the Family Counseling Center, PTAs, the Parent Connection, and interested parents.

While an idea was already in the works to hold a Town Hall Meeting during April, “Alcohol Awareness Month,” the plan was energized at the recent Prevention Council gathering when members were individually polled on what they thought were the most critical issues highlighted in the substance abuse survey.

The consensus was that binge drinking by teens, the use and acceptance of alcohol by certain parents, and issues alcohol was contributing to in local homes were among the top three concerns. The use of inhalants by increasingly younger populations was also prioritized.

However, the Parent Connection had already hosted a forum featuring a popular nationally known authority on inhalants. So even though the upcoming Town Hall Meeting would welcome discussion on any topic related to family or community health and substance issues, it was determined the focus would be concentrated on underage drinking.

Statistically, according to local students surveyed, eight out of ten high school upper classmen have used alcohol and three out of ten admit to having been drunk at least ten times. The survey also reported an increase in binge drinking by eleventh and twelfth graders.

This practice typically involves drinking a significant amount of alcohol in order to get as intoxicated as possible in as short a period as possible. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, frequent binge drinkers were eight times more likely than nonbinge drinkers to miss a class, fall behind in schoolwork, get hurt or injured, and damage property, and nearly one out of every five teenagers (16 percent) that organization surveyed has experienced “black out” spells where they could not remember what happened the previous evening because of heavy binge drinking.

The council wanted to make the April 6 Town Hall Meeting as accessible as possible to community members. The event will feature free babysitting services provided by Youth Service’s certified volunteers on-site. Anyone interested in securing the temporary child care services must, however, reserve a spot by calling the agency by April 4 at 270-4335.

The event will feature a panel of experts including local officials and Danbury Hospital Emergency Room Physician William Begg, MD.

Attendees will also enjoy light refreshments and be among the first to see the premier of a brand-new 15-minute video entitled, This Place. The Prevention Council’s Town Hall Meeting is free and open to the public, and students and parents are encouraged to attend.

The activity is underwritten by a grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). For more information, contact Newtown Youth Services at the above number or Ms Blanchard at 426-2798.