Dear Susie,
We are sending our next newsletter to you earlier than we expected because we received news of new funding for substance abuse prevention and wanted to get the info off to you ASAP. In addition, we have included some interesting articles focused specifically on teen drinking concerns may be useful to you or that you may want to share with health teachers, counselors or your own kids!

For groups of four or more, please contact our office at 714-997-2158. When you arrive at the school on either day, please drop by the school office to let them know that you are there for the LEGACY OF HOPE assembly.

Hope to see you there!

NEW GRANT FUNDING AVAILABLE TO REDUCE SUBSTANCE ABUSE AMONG YOUTH AND ADULTS
The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) have issued a Program Announcement for the fiscal year 2004 Drug-Free Communities Support Program.

The purpose of the program is to reduce substance abuse among youth and, over time, among adults.

Community coalitions whose members have worked together on substance abuse reduction initiatives for at least 6 months and that meet all eligibility requirements outlined in the program announcement are invited to apply. Coalitions may be umbrella coalitions serving multicounty areas, and statewide coalitions may apply provided that they meet all other eligibility requirements.

Approximately 180 grants of up to $100,000 each will be awarded to community coalitions that are working to prevent and reduce substance abuse among youth.

Applications must be received by March 26, 2004.

Interested applicants may view the Program Announcement on the program's Website at http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/dfcs.

All applications must be completed online using the Office of Justice Programs' Grants Management System (GMS)at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/fundopps.htm. Applicants who have questions about GMS, or who require technical assistance, should call the GMS Help Desk at 888-549-9901, or consult the GMS Applications Procedures Handbook online at http://grants.ojp.usdoj.gov/gmsHelp/index.html.

For further information, please contact the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse at 800-851-3420 or by e-mail at drugfree@ncjrs.org.

Study: Working Teens More Likely to Drink

The University of California conducted a study that showed teens who work more than 10 hours a week have a tendency to consume alcohol more heavily than those teens who work fewer hours, or not at all. The study consisted of 6,500 adolescents. The findings stated that 24% of the teenagers who worked more than 10 hours a week reported that they drank heavily in the last year. On the other hand, fewer than 10% of the teenagers who worked less hours or not at all reported that they drank heavily in the last year. Mallie Paschall, lead researcher, speculated that when teenagers work more than 10 hours a week the income allows them to purchase alcohol. Also, work relationships with older teens and adults who drink may lead teens to believe that heavy drinking is socially acceptable.

Study: Underage, Heavy Drinkers Consume Half of U.S. Alcohol

According to an analysis by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, excessive adult and underage drinking account for half of the industry’s sales. Each year Americans spend an average of $116.2 billion on alcohol, and of that number $56.9 billion is just from adult and underage consumers.

George Hacker, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s Alcohol Policies Project said, “Regardless of its public stance, the industry considers underage drinking to be profit centers that need nurturing, rather than problems that need solving.” Public health experts agreed underage and excessive drinking is the nation’s number one drug problem.

Every person has a different take on what “moderate and excessive drinking” means. U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture defines moderate drinking as one drink a day for women and two drinks per day for men. David Rosenbloom, director of Join Together, says that successful attempts to reduce excessive adult drinking and underage drinking can be broken up into three categories.

Raised on Radio: Underage Youth More Likely to Hear Alcohol Ads on Radio that Adults

The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at Georgetown University worked with Virtual Media Resources to analyze 51,883 airings of 106 different radio ads for beer, distilled spirits, wine, and flavored malt beverages known as “alcopops.”

These airings revealed that 28% of ads occurred when more than 30% of the listening audience were underage youth. 52% of Heineken, 42% of Amstel Light, 42% of Corona Extra, and 35% of Miller Lite radio ads aired when more than 30% of the listening audience was between the ages of 12 and 20.

The findings showed that 14 of the 15 largest radio markets in the U.S. had underage youth that were more likely to hear the beverage ad than adults over 21. In 15 markets including Chicago, San Francisco, Houston-Galveston, Washington D.C., and Miami-Fr. Lauderdale-Hollywood, underage youth were more likely to hear the beverage ads than adults between 21 and 34. Four radio formats, urban country, alternative, rhythmic contemporary, and pop contemporary made up almost three-quarters of the underage youth exposure to alcohol ads on the radio.

The average teenager listens to 13.5 hours of radio in one week. This is in comparison to 10.6 hours watching television, 7.6 hours online, and 3.3 hours per week reading for pleasure. Thus, the radio presents a targeted selection of listeners, because radio station formats appeal to narrow demographics.

Michigan Bill Would Jail Minors for Drinking

Michigan lawmakers want to curb underage drinking, so they are considering a bill that would allow judges to send minors to jail after their second conviction of alcohol possession. Senator Tom George, sponsor of the bill said, “I understand minors are going to experiment with alcohol from time to time, but this bill is designed for those young people who are well on their way to becoming alcoholics.” The proposed bill will allow judges to send second-time offenders to jail for up to 30 days, and repeat offenders have an increased jail time of 90 days. So far the measure has passed the Michigan Senate and now moves to the state House of Representatives.

Community How To Guide On Underage Drinking Prevention

“NAGHSR and NHTSA have published a series of ‘How To’ Guides on Underage Drinking Prevention. These guides incorporate what was learned throughout the UDPP project and are intended to assist other advocates who want to implement a program in their area.” These guides advise local advocates on how to deal with the following issues:

Coalition Building
Needs Assessment/Strategic Planning
Enforcement
Prevention/Education
Public Policy
Media Relations
Evaluation
Self-Sufficiency Resources

For more information please contact:

http://www.naghsr.org/html/publications/guidebooks.html

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590
(888) DASH-2-DOT

May this quote from Samual Ullmani inspire you today:
"Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul."

And...according to Dorie Mattson, Minister of Dance at Dr. Robert Schuller's Crystal Cathedral where I danced and flew as an angel in the Glory of Christmas and Glory of Easter:
"Enthusaism in the early Aramaic Bibles means God filled."

Go with Enthusiasm this month and may your path be sprinkled with miraculous moments!

Sincerely,
All of us at LEGACY
Susie Vanderlip - Ken Vanderlip - Tara Seamans
800-707-1977

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