Local Youth Bring Awareness to Underage Drinking Through Art
The Allegany Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Inc.
(ACASA) and Partners for Prevention in Allegany County (PPAC) offered local
high and middle schoolers the opportunity to participate in the first Youth Art
Month Poster Contest in March. The focus of the poster contest was “Underage
Drinking Not a Minor Problem”. The focus of underage drinking coincides with
April’s Alcohol Awareness Month.
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| Gabby Terhune |
Over 30 entries were received from Andover, Scio, and
Wellsville school districts. The posters were judged by the residents of
ACASA’s Residential Program and Prevention Staff. Andover 8th Grader Gabby
Terhune was the overall winner of the contest. Morgan Satterlee, Gracieanne
Gaylord, Audrianna Eveland, and Jordan Graham were also winners from Andover.
Scio 9th Grader Trace Woodruff took first place for the high school level.
Drake Irwin, Brooke Budinger, and Benjamin Weimer of Scio also were winners.
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Andover winners left to right: Jordan Graham, Gabbrielle
Terhune, Gracieanne Gaylord, Morgan Satterlee.
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Each winner was awarded Wellsville Chamber Dollars to be used at local
businesses. “The purpose of the contest was to get young people in Allegany
County to think about underage drinking and express their messages through
art,” states Coalition Coordinator Jon Chaffee. “I think for the first year the
turnout was great and we hope to get more involvement next year.”
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Scio winners left to right: Ben Weimer, Drake Irvin,
TraceWoodruff and Brooke Budinger.
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Alcohol has been the drug of choice for youth in Allegany
County, followed by tobacco use. According to the New York State’s Office of
Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) teens who begin drinking before
age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who
begin drinking at age 21.
• Adolescent
use among teens is associated with the three most common causes of teenage
deaths: accidental (such as car crashes), homicides, and suicides.
• On average,
eight youth per day die in alcohol-related car crashes in the U.S., and nine
out of ten teenage car accidents involve the use of alcohol.
• Alcohol use
and higher levels of use among adolescents is associated with poor grades,
absenteeism, and higher rates of school dropout.
• Due to the
fact that the brain continues developing through age twenty-five, alcohol use
can damage the teen brain, disrupt growth, and interfere with learning. There is no organ of the body that is not
affected by alcohol consumption.
• By the time
students are in their senior year of high school, four out of five teens have
consumed alcohol, and adolescents who drink are likely to be heavy drinkers or
binge drinkers.
Getting young people to think about the dangers of alcohol
use is half of the equation, the second half is for adults to discuss alcohol
and drug use with them. 52% of 7-12 graders reported their parents had never
talked to them about the dangers of underage drinking. Research shows that
teens whose parents communicate with them about underage drinking being
unacceptable are more than 50% less likely to drink than teens whose parents
give them other messages about underage drinking. OASAS has many resources for
parents on how to talk or text their children about difficult topics at https://talk2prevent.ny.gov/parents.
Remember, Prevention Works!
