REGION – Spring is an exciting time of year, especially for teens, who are preparing to celebrate prom and graduation. Celebrating these milestones is pivotal for teenagers, as well as for their families and the wider community. It is the community’s job to make sure these celebrations are safe and healthy. As families gather to celebrate, it is important for adults to stay vigilant with alcohol use, and make sure alcohol is not easily accessible to young people. This is why West River Valley Thrives, a local substance use prevention coalition, invites community members to participate in two national programs during this time of year.
You may have noticed the signs popping up around town. That is because Thrives has launched its annual lawn sign campaign to promote prevention of teen alcohol use during prom and graduation season. Read more about the campaign and why we do it on the Thrives Blog, www.wrvthrives.org/lawn-sign-campaign-encourages-safe-celebrations-and-shared-responsibility.
By sharing the responsibility of creating safe celebrations as a community, and educating ourselves and our children about the dangers of underage drinking, we can keep our kids safe. Newfane parent Gibbs Rehlen shares that, “By participating in this campaign, we are joining other families in a highly visible, community-wide reminder to show support for teens as they make healthy choices while celebrating an important rite of passage. We chose to put a sign in our yard because we care about Vermont youth, their lives, and the health of our overall community.”
You may notice new stickers at local retailers when purchasing alcoholic beverages. The stickers remind community members not to purchase alcohol for anyone under the age of 21. Sticker Shock is a national program where youth and caring adults get together to raise public awareness about the cost of providing alcohol to minors by placing stickers on beer, wine coolers, and any other alcohol products that appeal to underage drinkers. The goal of this project is to discourage adults and older peers from providing alcohol to minors by reminding them about the dangers and legal implications if caught. According to the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), 70% of Windham County high-schoolers think it’s easy to get alcohol from other people or their homes.
West River Valley Thrives works with local youth groups to implement Sticker Shock twice a year, during end-of-year holidays and end-of-school celebrations. On May 18, Thrives teamed up with Scout BSA Troop 428 to complete a Sticker Shock project as part of their community service requirements. The stores included in this round were River Bend Farm Market in Townshend, Harmonyville Country Store, The Newfane Store, Wardsboro Country Store, West River Provisions, and West Wardsboro Store.
Elon, a participating scout, stated, “I wanted to do it [this program] because it’s a good thing to do. It can keep kids safe and make it harder to access alcohol.”
Scout Leader Jennifer Matheson sees this as more than a community service project. “It gives [the Scouts] ownership over this important issue, to stand up and say it’s not okay to provide alcohol to kids.”
Thrives staff would like to say a special thank you to all who participated in these programs, including local retailers, for being models for responsible beverage sales and use by encouraging all consumers of legal age to commit to keeping alcohol out of the hands of minors.