Community: Introduction

Alcohol is a regular feature of leisure activities in most communities: alcohol ads and billboards with attractive and youthful models promoting alcoholic products are displayed publicly; alcohol companies are allowed to sponsor local fairs, races, sports activities, and other family-focused events; and underage drinking and sales of alcohol to minors is often ignored. In all these ways, youth are socialized by their community to believe that alcohol use is accepted, expected, and even essential to having a good time. To combat these forces, many communities are instead using a variety of strategies to control the visibility and availability of alcohol in their children’s environment.

“It takes a village to raise a child.”
-African proverb

How can you help combat the messages which promote alcohol use to youth in your community? Depending on whether you are a business person or concerned citizen, there are many steps you can take to prevent underage alcohol use in your community.

The following questions are discussed in this section*:

• Do you know how easily youth in your community can obtain alcohol and what communities can do to prevent young people’s access to alcohol?
• Does your community have educational programs and policies to prevent youth from drinking?
• Does your community have "alcohol-free" events? If not, do you know how to initiate them?
• Is there collaboration among public and private schools, community businesses, local government, and the police force to develop and enforce policies related to youth alcohol use?

*These questions are adapted from Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free, a coalition of Governors’ spouses, Federal agencies, and public and private organizations. Leadership is a national effort that specifically targets prevention of drinking in the 9- to 15-year-old age group. http://www.alcoholfreechildren.org/