Spotlight on underage drinking

MAT-SU — As high school graduation season nears, a newly formed coalition is putting the spotlight on underage drinking in the Mat-Su Valley.

The Mat-Su Substance Abuse Coalition, organized under the United Way of Mat-Su, is leading an effort to educate the public about underage drinking and other substance abuse problems. The coalition includes 40 organizations that have pledged to address a problem they say historically has largely been ignored.

“I think our community is ready,” said Stephanie Allen, executive director of United Way of Mat-Su. “We’ve had a lot of support, so I think we are on the cusp of an initiative that can create long-lasting change.”

Although the coalition is relatively new, Allen said underage drinking and the problems that come about because of it are not.

“I think that we’ve always had a situation,” she said. “Our youth are drinking and in our community, in a broad sense, it’s seen as OK with supervision and adults present. But I think it has escalated and become a problem.”

When asked to respond to many adults who don’t take teen drinking seriously because they did it themselves and, after all, kids will be kids, Allen said that’s just a way to rationalize the issue.

“I think that there is some truth to that statement, but I think the notion of it being a community norm is not something we should pass on to our kids,” she said.

As underage drinking becomes commonplace, Allen said it will have major impact on the future of youth and the community. For example, drinking at a young age can hinder physical and mental development and impede social skills — problems that can have a long-term effect on a person’s life.

“We’re setting ourselves up for some major challenges,” she said.

In addition to having a negative impact on youth, underage drinking also has a negative and expensive impact on the community.

According to the Alaska Plan to Reduce and Prevent Underage Drinking, prepared by the Alaska Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking, the costs associated with underage drinking in Alaska in 2005 reached $317 million. Of that $317, more than $225 million is attributed to youth violence — the leading monetary expense linked to underage drinking, the report says. Youth traffic accidents are second with almost $25 million spent in 2005, the last year for which numbers are available.

The coalition believes it’s time the Valley becomes a dry area for teens, and some reports show the amount of underage drinking in Alaska may be decreasing.

According to findings from the 2007 Alaska Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a survey administered by the Department of Education and Early Development and the Department of Health and Social Services, 20.4 percent of surveyed high school students admitted drinking alcohol before the age of 13. In 2003, the number of youths drinking before the age of 13 was more than 3 percent higher. From 1995 to 2007, the percentage has dropped by 16.3 percent.

Whether underage drinking is decreasing or increasing, Allen feels it’s time for the Mat-Su to step up and stop ignoring what could be a tragic problem. The first step should be taken in the home, where parents talk with children about drugs and alcohol.

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of stories spotlighting underage drinking in the Mat-Su Valley. Next Sunday’s installment will examine the consequences teens and their families can face from underage alcohol use.

Contact Chris Gillow at chris.gillow@frontiersman.com or 352-2284.