Town Hall Meetings Convene on Underage Drinking
More than 1,200 communities will hold a series of town
hall meetings, on or around March 28—just before
April, which is Alcohol Awareness Month—to focus
national attention on underage drinking and hear about
successful strategies for prevention. SAMHSA is playing
a key role in this effort.
To assist local communities with preparation, SAMHSA
offers a planning kit that includes templates for the
production of customized posters and flyers, press releases
for the media, and invitation letters for potential panelists.
The meetings continue the momentum of the recent national
conference in Washington, DC, "Preventing Underage
Alcohol Use: A National Meeting of the States."
The conference was sponsored by the Interagency Coordinating
Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking, which
is chaired by SAMHSA Administrator Charles G. Curie,
M.A., A.C.S.W. (See
SAMHSA News, November/December 2005.)
Town hall meetings are intended to bring together communities
in a public forum to discuss issues of concern related
to underage use of alcohol, which is the most widely
used substance of abuse among America's youth.
The town hall meetings are strategically timed to help
energize communities about Reach Out Now teach-in
events (see SAMHSA
News article, Reach Out Now
Offers Materials to Schools). Communities holding
town hall events are encouraged to use these teach-in
materials in their schools.
 In
January, regional trainings to prepare for the town hall
meetings were held in Boston, MA, and Reno, NV. The trainings
focused on two objectives:
Help local community coalitions convene town hall meetings
focused on underage drinking prevention. -
Promote local use of the Start Talking Before
They Start Drinking public service announcements
developed in collaboration with the Ad Council.
Regional trainings are highlighted in two Web casts
to help local community coalitions get involved in these
efforts.
Planned activities include the governors and first ladies
of many states, including the following:
-
In Arizona, a number of coalitions
and organizations are planning 25 town hall meetings,
with teach-ins to follow.
-
In Florida, 43 of 67 counties will
participate in town hall meetings, with an event
in Tampa scheduled to be broadcast live on all Florida
PBS stations and taped by other local affiliates.
The state's first lady will attend the Tampa meeting
along with Federal leaders and state agency heads.
-
In Maine, the Attorney General
is holding town hall-style meetings in every county
in the state. The meetings, held in 24 communities,
are the first step in developing a regional plan
of action and will highlight current state and local
efforts.
-
In North Carolina, the state's
first lady will speak at a town hall meeting in Chapel
Hill on March 28. The event is hosted by a community
coalition, the Committee for Alcohol & Drug Free
Teenagers of Chapel Hill, and the town of Carrboro.
Drug Free Community grantees will take part.
-
In Ohio, town hall meetings will
take place in various communities on March 28. Plans
call for a central meeting to be held in Cleveland.
-
In Washington, DC, the mayor has
planned a town hall-style meeting devoted to underage
drinking for March 28.
-
In Wyoming, on April 6, the state's
first lady will host a live call-in broadcast on
Wyoming Public Television.
Other states involved in town hall meetings include
California, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Maryland,
Virginia, and Kentucky.
For additional information, or to view the training
Web casts, visit www.stopalcoholabuse.gov/townhall. 
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