Police, Link Together Coalition deliver anti-drug message

Five area police departments - Buffalo Grove, Wheeling, Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights and Arlington Heights - recently participated in the "Your Actions Matter" campaign, one of the programs supported by Buffalo Grove-based community organization Link Together Coalition.

The coalition is made up of leaders from Wheeling Township communities to deliver a message of empowerment for young people to remain drug and alcohol free.

"Your Actions Matter" is a middle school and high school student-led initiative with a goal to change the attitudes of adults regarding either the purchasing or giving of alcohol to minors.

Local police officers worked with the students to place bottle hangers and posters in area locations that sell liquor. Approximately 50 stores in Wheeling Township participated in the campaign.

"The Arlington Heights Police Department is dedicated to helping to keep teens safe. What better way than to partner with like-minded community organizations such as Link Together Coalition to work directly with teens to get the message out," said Sgt. Doug Hajek with the Arlington Heights Police Department.

"It is illegal for parents and other adults to provide alcohol to minors. The strong visual message placed on alcohol containers hopefully makes those considering putting teens at risk change their minds."

The message on the bottle hangers is that it's dangerous to provide alcohol to minors and that doing so can result in penalties ranging from fines to felony changes.

Additional messaging states that preventing underage drinking is everyone's responsibility, and directs individuals to visit linktogethercoalition.org to learn more.

A video featuring Mount Prospect Police encouraging responsible behavior is at https://youtu.be/BqTsr8IcwMI.

To learn more about Your Actions Matter and the Link Together Coalition, go to www.linktogethercoalition.org/volunteer.