Huron High School Students Join Forces to form
Students on Alcohol Prevention, SOAP
On March 11th, 2008, over twenty Huron high school students from the group called Students on Alcohol Prevention will sponsor a TAKE IT BACK Community Briefing to be held at the Huron high school library from 6:30 to 8:30pm. TAKE IT BACK is a national, youth-directed movement to reduce alcohol problems. It is not an organization, a program or a group it is a dynamic movement that is focused on research and action.
The TAKE IT BACK Movement is driven by facts like these:
- Each day, more than 5,400 kids in the United States under age 16 take their first drink.1
- Each year, more than 97,000 students between the ages of 18 to 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape.2
- In the US alone, alcohol kills more kids than all illegal drugs combined.3
For the first time, more than 350 youth groups from 49 states will simultaneously hold youth-led Community Briefings to call attention to alcohol as the single most important health issue facing young people today. At the Briefing, we will focus on the following alcohol issues that were found while conducting research in our own community:
- "Big Picture", information regarding the role of alcohol in our community and its Impact on Youth
- What the Huron students are doing to help solve the Underage drinking problem at their school
- Talking points from the SOAP group Student Alcohol Survey
Please plan to attend this important Community Briefing. To arrange a pre- or post-event interview with our youth panelists and other representatives from our group, please contact our adult project advisor, Justin Bishop at cleanteens@aol.com.
1 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/NSDUHlatest.htm
2 Hingson et. al., 2005, http://www.utakeitback.org/Issue/Statistics/index.html
3 National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2003.
Within the "risk and protective factors" framework of addressing the issue of youth substance, there are a variety of specific prevention strategies. (Additional information about the risk and protective factor model can be found in the section of this toolkit entitled "Current Prevention Theories and Practices.")
- Community Based Strategies: Community based prevention strategies include (1) reducing access to alcohol; (2) establishing community laws and norms that disapprove of underage drinking; (3) increasing awareness about the nature and extent of underage drinking; (4) mobilizing the community to develop neighborhoods where atmosphere, appearance, and safety are important; (5) increasing supervision of young people; and (6) providing opportunities for youth to contribute to the community.
- School Based Strategies: School based prevention strategies include (1) policies that encourage an alcohol free life-style; (2) classroom curricula that assist young people in developing good interpersonal skills and social competence; (3) communities and schools working together; (4) positive behavior management; and (5) accurate information on the role or roles of alcohol.
- Family Based Strategies: Family based prevention strategies include (1) parent education to influence attitudes and behavior toward underage drinking; (2) addressing family structure and function problems, such as how to set limits in age-appropriate ways; and (3) addressing family conflicts such as substance abuse, violence, divorce and illness.
- Individual/Peer Group Based Strategies: Individual and peer group based prevention strategies include (1) building personal competence such as decision-making and people skills; (2) mentoring programs; (3) teaching on the appropriate use of time; and (4) identification of individual reasons for substance use, such as self-medication, testing rules, and others.
5. Comprehensive Prevention Programs: Comprehensive prevention programs include all of the strategies listed above and involve multiple goals to be accomplished simultaneously. All segments of the community are involved and work together toward preventing substance use among youth. Organizations with limited resources will need to determine which strategies they wish to make a priority.
Click on the Community Action Box below to learn more on Prevention Practices & Principals
