Risks and consequences

THREE RIVERS AREA — A group of White County residents are serious about putting a stop to teenage

drug and alcohol use. The WISE Coali

tion, which stands for White County Invested in Substance Abuse Eradication, has set its focus on lowering thenumber of teenagers who drink. The average age children begin drinking alcohol is 12.6.

Alcohol-related accidents are the leading cause of death among 15- to 24-year-olds, and alcohol kills more minors than all other drugs combined, according to statistics provided by the WISE Coalition.

The coalition’s coordinator, Pat Ham

brick, said the organization has planned

some new initiatives for 2010, one of which is educating parents, law enforcement and educators on the risks of underage drinking.

“We will be doing other things to create awareness of the issue and theconsequences, as well as ways our youth access alcohol,” Hambrick said. “We are looking at doing some other things in partnership with other groups, but the details are not complete.” Members of the WISE Coalition plan to implement All Stars, an evidence-based prevention program, in the schools.

“We are still working to get it implemented at the sixth-grade level in White County and finally have a couple of schools interested,” Hambrick said.

Another program WISE is launching this year is the Not in My House campaign. This is to raise awareness of a new law called the social host law, which makes

it a criminal offense for adults to make alcohol accessible tominors.

“I expect to train our

local law enforcement

about the risks and

consequences of underage drinking so theywill pursue the violations,” Hambrick said.

She also said she hopes thecampaign sends a message to the

community that it is not OK to supply alcohol to minors.

WISE offers an evidence-based, fiveweek workshop for parents of 9- to 14-year-olds that helps guide parents to make good choices. The children attend session 3, where they learn refusal skills.

“The other sessions focus on family meetings, setting clear standards and consequences, and managing conflict and anger,” Hambrick said.

The workshop has proven to reduce the use of alcohol by 40 percent for children who had already started drinking.

Future plans for WISE include hosting the following events:

◊A luncheon for mayors in White County;

◊A law-enforcement training event; and

◊A lunch for business leaders.

“We are focused primarily on educating parents and the community because they are thesource of the vast majority of alcohol for our youth,” Hambrick said. “I had a casual conversation with an upstanding young professional woman yesterday and was talking about this. She said she started drinking at age 13 because she went to a friend’s house when the parents were out of town, and they got into the bookcase full of alcohol.”

The WISE Coalition received an Arkansas State Incentive Grant to reduce underage drinking in White County, and the coalition partners with the Department of Human Services and the White County Medical Foundation.

For more information on the WISE Coalition, visit wise-coalition.com.

- jbrosius @arkansasonline.com