LIHU‘E — Citizens and county officials are very concerned that some alcoholic products appear to be aimed squarely at the youngest of drinkers. Young members of the Boys & Girls Club on Kaua‘i showed examples of how they’re “told” alcohol
LIHU‘E — Citizens and county officials are very concerned that some alcoholic products appear to be aimed squarely at the youngest of drinkers.
Young members of the Boys & Girls Club on Kaua‘i showed examples of how they’re “told” alcohol is part of everyday life, April 26, at an Anahola town meeting on underage drinking, states a county press release.
Michaun McCormack, Jaime “JJ” Morris and Chantal Rusaw, of the Boys & Girls Club Kaua‘i, showed images of Heineken “Go Green, Kaua‘i” signs, piles of beer cans in parks and public trash cans and liquor-store and grocery-store pro-alcohol posters.
The youth worked to photograph images that made them think about alcohol as part of a PhotoVoice project.
In addition to youth and parents from the Anahola community, staff from the county Anti-Drug Program office, Kaua‘i Police Department, county Department of Liquor Control and Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho Jr., were in attendance, as alcohol prevention among youth is one of the county’s priorities.
“I said this at our last town-hall meeting,” Carvalho said. “Everyone has a personal story (related to alcohol).”
Also on hand at the event was Gina Kaulukukui, KPD domestic-violence coordinator and chair of the Hawai‘i Suicide Prevention Task Force.
Kaulukukui said stress is one of the causes of underage drinking. She also noted that alcohol, being a depressant, is a serious threat to Kaua‘i youths, especially those contemplating suicide.
Other experts on hand included representatives of Kaua‘i Drug Court, who showed a compilation video of images posted by local youths on their MySpace pages, and Sgt. Ken Carvalho, who said another problem facing Kaua‘i is its compliance rate: the worst in the state.
Carvalho of KPD said the amount of vendors and proprietors who carded minors during a recent sting operation was a “sad 38 percent.”
Gimmicky alcohol products targeting youth nationally are also among the threats to keeping Kaua‘i youth safe, according to Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant Project Specialist Amanda C. Gregg.
According to Gregg, examples of this include the recent release of Hello Kitty wine and champagne, as well as “Whipped Lightning” whipahol, a whipped, flavored cream topping that’s 36.5-proof.
The county recently was awarded $1.2 million in the form of a federal grant to help combat this problem, the release states.
The money will be used to help implement evidence-based programs in upcoming months designed to offer Kaua‘i youth alternatives to alcohol to help combat these challenges, county Anti-Drug Coordinator Theresa Koki said.
The alcohol-related educational event was co-hosted as part of April as Alcohol Awareness Month by the county Anti-Drug Program office and the Boys & Girls Club with funding from a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant.
Visit www.kauai.gov/Government/OfficeoftheMayor/AntiDrugProgramOffice/tabid/150/Default.aspx to learn more about the county Anti-Drug Program office.
