Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition of Alexandria Receives Funds to Reduce Underage and High-Risk Drinking
The Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition of Alexandria (SAPCA) was awarded $7,996 through an 11-month education and prevention grant from the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Authority. SAPCA is one of 15 grantees named across the state of Virginia that received funding to reduce underage and high-risk drinking in schools and neighborhoods.
While underage drinking rates in Alexandria have been decreasing since 2011, in a 2016 survey, nearly one in four Alexandria teens reported that they had used alcohol in the past 30 days. This grant will support SAPCA in continuing to reduce both availability and easy access to alcohol, as well as regular alcohol use among youth.
Planned initiatives include:
- Project Sticker Shock, an annual event held in October. During this event, teams of youth and adults visit stores in Alexandria to place “warning” stickers on multi-packs of beer, wine coolers and other alcoholic products, highlighting the penalties for furnishing alcohol to minors.
- Parents Who Host Lose the Most, a public awareness campaign that promotes the risks of providing alcohol to teenagers and educates parents, teens and community members about underage drinking laws.
- Activities throughout Alcohol Awareness Month in April that focus on increasing public awareness and understanding, reducing stigma and encouraging local communities to focus on alcohol-related issues – particularly among youth.
Allen Lomax, SAPCA chair, stated, “I am pleased that the Virginia ABC recognized the great work our coalition is doing. While underage drinking rates have been steadily decreasing over the years, we must continue and even increase our work in preventing and reducing alcohol use by Alexandria youth.” This Virginia ABC grant will support SAPCA’s 2018-19 work to reduce and prevent alcohol use by Alexandria youth.
To learn more about SAPCA’s work, visit PreventItAlexandria.org. If you are interested in learning how you can become involved with SAPCA, contact Emma Beall at [email protected].
For more information about ABC’s Education & Prevention Grant program, visit www.abc.virginia.gov.
