Town Hall Meeting on Underage Drinking May 7, 2010

Hello everyone,

Alcohol use among children and adolescents starts early and increases rapidly with age. In 2008, 15.9 percent of 8th graders, 28.8 percent of 10th graders, and 43.1 percent of 12th graders reported drinking an alcoholic beverage in the previous month. Heavy drinking is a problem at all three grade levels. Among eighth graders, about 1 in 20 (5.4 percent) reported being drunk at least once in the past month. Nearly 1 out of every 7 10th graders (14.4 percent) and about 2 out of every 7 12th graders (27.6 percent) reported being drunk at least once in the last month.1

To help educate young people and caring adults about the risks associated with underage drinking, the Federal Government's Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking is supporting a series of Town Hall Meetings. The meetings will take place in communities across America which coincides with the start of April's Alcohol Awareness Month.

The Tongan American Youth Foundation (TAYF) in partnership with SAMHSA, Pacific Islander Health Partnership (PIHP) and the Junipero Serra High School Pacific Islanders Club is planning a Town Hall Meeting in our area on Friday, May 7th 2010 at Junipero Serra High School in Gardena. This meeting will give us the opportunity to educate parents, teachers, officials, youth, and other community members about the impact of underage drinking and will allow us to develop possible solutions.