commUNITY cares along with several community agencies sponsored the fifth annual Unity in the Community Youth Summit on October 20. Please visit the following links for a detailed story.

WDAM: Hattiesburg hosts drop out prevention event                       http://www.wdam.com/Global/story.asp?S=13366562

Hattiesburg American: Event teaches real world lessons http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=201010220331

Alcohol Awareness Month is a time of year dedicated to education about and prevention of alcoholism and alcohol abuse. It is an opportunity to raise awareness and encourage people to make healthy and safe choices. Alcoholism and the effects of the disease are far-reaching. Nearly every life has been touched in some way. One in every 13 adults, or 14 million Americans abuse alcohol or are alcoholics. More than one quarter of young people ages 12 to 20 drink alcohol, even though underage drinking is prohibited. Alcohol abuse and binge drinking are big problems in high schools and on college campuses.

This can be a good time for parents to educate their children on the dangers of underage drinking. Underage drinking is linked to injury and risky behavior. These include:

Brain Development and Alcohol Abuse

•  Research indicates that the human brain continues to develop into a person's early 20's, and that exposure of the developing brain to alcohol may have long-lasting effects on intellectual capabilities and may increase the likelihood of alcohol addiction.
• The age when drinking starts affects future drinking problems. For each year that the start of drinking is delayed, the risk of later alcohol dependence is reduced by 14 percent.

Drinking and Driving

• Car crashes are the leading cause of death among people ages 15 to 20. About 1,900 people under 21 die every year from car crashes involving underage drinking.
• Young people are more susceptible to alcohol-induced impairment of their driving skills. Drinking drivers aged 16 to 20 are twice as likely to be involved in a fatal crash as drinking drivers who are 21 or older.

Suicide

• Alcohol use interacts with conditions like depression and stress, and contributes to an estimated 300 teen suicides a year.
• High school students who drink are twice as likely to have seriously considered attempting suicide, as compared to nondrinkers. High school students who binge drink are four times as likely to have attempted suicide, as compared to nondrinkers.

Sexual Behavior

• Current teen drinkers are more than twice as likely to have had sexual intercourse within the past three months than teens who don't drink.
• Higher drinking levels increase the likelihood of sexual activity.
• Adolescents who drink are more likely to engage in risky sexual activities, like having sex with someone they don't know or failing to use birth control.

Other Risks

• Teens who drink alcohol are more likely than nondrinkers to smoke marijuana, use inhalants, or carry a weapon.
• Binge drinking substantially increases the likelihood of these activities.

Academic Performance

• A government study published in 2007 shows a relationship between binge drinking and grades. Approximately two-thirds of students with “mostly A’s” are non-drinkers, while nearly half of the students with “mostly D’s and F’s” report binge drinking. It is not clear, however, whether academic failure leads to drinking, or vice versa.
• The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) estimated the cost of alcoholism and alcohol abuse to be $186 billion, taking into consideration cost of treatment, illness, job losses, criminal justice actions, and death. Cancer, liver disease, brain damage, and heart problems can all be attributed to heavy drinking.

Some warning signs of alcohol abuse include:

• Drinking alone when feeling angry or sad
• Drinking makes you late for work
• Drinking worries your family
• Drink after telling yourself you won’t
• Forget what you did while drinking
• Get headaches or have a hangover after drinking

 Alcohol Awareness Month started in 1987 as a national public awareness campaign to encourage communities to focus on alcoholism and alcohol-related issues, especially on the effects of underage drinking.

Sources: Treatment Solutions Network, Wedontserveteens.gov, National Health Information Center