YOUTH WARNS ADULTS AGAINST PROVIDING ALCOHOL TO KIDS IN EL CAJON

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Coalition participates in local ‘Sticker Shock’ campaign

December 21, 2012 (El Cajon)--Several high school teens spent Wednesday afternoon in a “sticky” situation as a part of MADD’s “Sticker Shock,” a public awareness campaign to limit youth access to alcohol and remind those over 21 that it is illegal to provide alcohol to minors.

Working with local merchants, members of the East County Youth Coalition placed stickers that read, “Hey you!! It is ILLEGAL to provide alcohol for people under 21!!” on cases of beer at 7-Eleven, Town and Country Liquor and several other stores located near Second Street.

Coalition member Tundrea Besley said she was excited to help put the stickers on the packages. “I want to remind people that it is illegal to buy drinks for underage drinkers because this will prevent a lot of serious alcohol-related issues in the future,” Besley said.

Fifteen East County youth age 20 and younger died with alcohol in their system between 2006 and 2011, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office. Countywide, the death toll for youth who died with alcohol in their system during that time period reached 144.

The Sticker Shock campaign aims to cut teen access to alcohol in the East County where, according to the latest California Healthy Kids Survey, half of local 11th-graders surveyed say alcoholic beverages are “very easy” to obtain. Sixty-three percent of the juniors also reported using alcohol in the 2008-2010 school years.

In addition to the stickers placed on the six-packs, signs also were placed in store windows to remind drivers to act responsibly when planning to consume alcohol. “The stickers and signs are a good thing because a lot of people are going to be seeing them,” said Garry Davis, founder of 2nd Street Alliance for a Better Community, a business coalition that works to reduce criminal activity and disorder on Second Street. “Every time somebody picks one of those six-packs up, they’re going to look at that and see there are people out here who are trying to make things better.”

Implementation of prevention projects like Sticker Shock and the enforcement of social host laws are designed to discourage adults from providing alcohol to minors – intentionally or not. In recent years, the Sticker Shock program has shifted from a “don’t buy for minors” attitude to a “don’t give to minors” attitude to address situations where alcohol is purchased and made accessible to youth in homes or at holiday parties.

“In the holiday season, adults are more apt to be lenient and let underage drinkers drink and I think it’s probably an appropriate time to reinforce the fact that it’s not okay at any time,” Davis said.

In 2009, 20.6 percent of underage drinkers in the U.S. were given alcohol by a parent, guardian, or other adult family member according to the National Survey of Drug Use and Health. Local businesses that partnered with East County Youth Coalition in this year’s Sticker Shock campaign helped remind the Second Street community of laws to prevent youth access to alcohol.

“I want to see the buy-in from the community. It’s a whole buy-in of trying to make this area better. It takes all of us working together to make something change,” Davis said.

East County Youth Coalition recently expanded its youth program to include Mt. Miguel High School and plans to continue raising awareness about alcohol and its impact among teens in East County throughout the school year.


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