Does your community have "alcohol-free" events? If not, do you know how to initiate them?

Support recreational alternatives to drinking and provide alcohol-free parties or events for young people. Community members can encourage and help schools and recreational organizations to offer youth more after-school and weekend activities. Community locations where youth can socialize in an alcohol-free atmosphere, such as coffeehouses, cafes, and arcades, are a key factor in reducing alcohol use by youth. Community members can help ensure that sport and recreational facilities such as gyms and bowling alleys are open at times when youth report they often drink, such as after school or on weekends. Business owners may also offer services to youth at a discounted rate, such as bowling nights, to encourage youth participation.

Support positive opportunities and activities for youth, such as mentoring. As a member of the community, you can personally influence youth and the choices they make by serving as an adult mentor to a young person. Many communities have mentoring organizations in which you can become involved. Below are links to a few that might have an active program in your area:

America's Promise
http://www.americaspromise.org

Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America
http://www.bbbsa.org

Friends for Youth
http://friendsforyouth.org

National Mentoring Center
http://nwrel.org/mentoring

The Center for Applied Research Solutions (CARS) Mentoring Technical Assistance Project provides FREE assistance to school and community-based mentoring programs in the state of California that serve youth ages 5 to 18. This free assistance is provided to mentoring programs through funding provided by the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. For more information about the services provided as well as links to numerous mentoring publications and resources, see the following link: http://www.carsmentoring.org/main.php

Involve young people in your community’s existing prevention efforts. Make a community effort to engage youth and challenge them to participate in analyzing and resolving society’s mixed messages regarding youth alcohol practices. Young people are in the best position to communicate to policymakers and others the effect of adult attitudes and behaviors. They experience directly the contradiction between ready alcohol access and aggressive alcohol marketing on the one hand, and the health and safety messages and strict no-use policies on the other. Youth participation can include studying and reporting marketing abuses; developing advertising counter-efforts; participating in law enforcement programs; and meeting with and making presentations to policymakers, retailers, and marketers. Schools, parents, government agencies, law enforcement, community coalitions, and neighborhood groups should create avenues for engaging young people.