By AUBRIE GEORGE | The Moorestown Sun
Prom and graduation are among the most exciting and memorable of times for high school students, but this time of year is also a dangerous time.
Joe Conlin, Coordinator of Burlington County Coalition for Healthy Communities, a program of Burlington County Prevent Plus, said alcohol awareness month begins in April and a risk of increased underage drinking incidents spreads into the remainder of the school year.
“There is an increase in opportunity for kids to drink because they’re attending these functions,” Conlin said.
At a town hall meeting for underage drinking that was held in Marlton last month, Conlin said the average age that children in Burlington County children report consumption of alcohol is 10 to 11-years-old. The national average is 15 to 16-years old.
“That’s not a first sip, that’s actual alcohol use,” Conlin said.
For that reason, among other unsettling statistics, Conlin and members of the community are coming together to make teens and parents more aware of the risks that this time of year presents as well as ways that underage drinking incidents may be prevented.
To raise awareness countywide, Prevention Plus holds a poster contest for elementary school students and a public service announcement for high school students. They hold programs with Burlignton County College, such as letting students wear “fatal vision goggles”, which show them what it’s like to drive while impaired. In addition, Conlin visits local high schools for pre-prom and pre-graduation meetings where parents are required to attend to make sure that literature about prevention and the importance of parent involvement gets out.
“It’s important that parents are aware of what their kids are doing. We can go on Facebook and see pictures of kids underage who are drinking at parties or in their house in the basement with friends and they post them. I find it kind of amazing that parents don’t find out what their kids are doing,” Conlin said. “We try to educate parents on what the current trends are.”
One program in Moorestown that is aimed at deterring teen use of substances brings school and community together in the effort. The program, called CASA (Community Alliance on Substance Awareness in Moorestown) is dedicated to preventing alcohol and drug-related tragedies by providing information, education and healthy alternatives to Moorestown teens and families.
Through a partnership between the school district and the community as well as a grant provided by the county, the group holds regular programs aimed at helping all age levels, including parents, get educated on the risks of underage drinking and the use of substances.
Around this time of year, the group helps run programs such as project graduation, which provides a safe alternative for Moorestown graduates who may otherwise attend parties where there are drugs and alcohol present. But CASA’s approach to preventing incidents occurs all year long through programs including a fall retreat, coffee houses and concerts for students, a Parent Connection program, various presentations from special speakers, and more.
CASA co-chairs, Kim Jones and Dorie Kozuck, who is also the Student Assistance Counselor at Moorestown High School, said parents’ communication with their children is key in preventing incidents and tragedies.
“You need to talk, you need to keep that communication open,” Kozuck said.
In addition to educational programs for parents, CASA also has a program called Safe CASA, which asks parents in Moorestown to make a pledge that they will not serve alcohol or have drugs in their home. Currently, over 500 homes in Moorestown have taken the pledge.
“You get a sticker and you put that sticker on your door, so kids know when they come in that it’s a safe home,” Jones said.
Jones and Kozuck said prevention is reliant on help from the entire Moorestown community and that they are looking for volunteers to help run events that will help keep kids safe.
“We have a good, cooperative community,” Jones said, “But we need more energy, man power and even ideas.”
For more information about CASA, to take the CASA safe pledge or to find out how to get involved, visit the group’s Web site at www.moorestowncasa.com or contact co-chair Kim Jones at [email protected].
