Lake County tackles underage drinking
With underage drinking on the rise, three Lake County town hall meetings are scheduled to discuss how to combat the problem.
The discussion begins tonight at Zion-Benton Public Library, followed by similar events Thursday at Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein and April 8 at Garlands of Barrington. They are among 1,600 forums across the country.
In Lake County, the number of sixth-graders who in a survey said they drank alcohol in the past month rose from 6 percent in 2004 to 13 percent in 2006. Eighth-grade drinking rose from 18 percent to 23 percent during that time.
Slight increases have been reported for past-month alcohol use among 10th- and 12th-graders in Lake County. The seniors are above state and national averages.
"There's much work to be done here if we're going to have a positive impact on reducing underage drinking," said Bruce Johnson, CEO of NICASA, a substance abuse organization with locations in Waukegan, North Chicago, Buffalo Grove, Round Lake and Round Lake Park.
"It can devastate our kids as well as the families, and it's something we have to look at."
The Lake County Underage Drinking Prevention Task Force is hosting the county-wide meeting at Carmel. It has been advertised to local police departments and communities. About 200 people are expected to attend.
The meetings are designed to raise awareness of the public health risks of underage drinking and offer steps communities and individuals can take to combat and prevent it.
Organizers are looking for a buy-in by participants --talking to kids or grandkids, monitoring alcohol in the house or checking in with the local school.
"Something concrete to address it," said Liz Nelson, who works in prevention services for the Lake County Health Department. "It takes that extra push."
Johnson said the impact of underage drinking is not limited to traffic-related deaths. It also is a factor in crime, sexual assault, risky behavior and other problems.
"There's close to 10 task forces spread throughout the county trying to tackle underage drinking prevention," he said. "Parents who have younger children are worried … there's things we can do."
On a related level, work is ongoing in Mundelein, where the Lake County After School Coalition and NICASA have received a federal grant of $100,000 per year for three years to deal with the issues.
Forums on underage drinking
Coalition for Healthy Communities forum: today, 7 to 8:30 p.m., at the Zion-Benton Library, 200 Gabriel Ave., Zion. Call (847) 731-2658.
Lake County Underage Drinking Prevention Task Force forum: Thursday, 7 to 8:30 p.m., Carmel Catholic High School, One Carmel Pkwy., Mundelein. Call (847) 543-2056.
Community Drug Prevention Coalition forum: April 8, noon, Garlands of Barrington, 1000 Garlands Lane, Barrington. Call (847) 382-8778.
Source: Lake County Underage Drinking Prevention Task Force