Healthy Communities Partnership to host substance-free bowling party Sunday

[April 01, 2014]  Each April since 1987, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence has sponsored NCADD Alcohol Awareness Month to increase public awareness and understanding, reduce stigma, and encourage local communities to focus on alcoholism and alcohol-related issues. This April, NCADD highlights the important public health issue of underage drinking, a problem with devastating consequences for individuals, families and communities.

In Logan County, the Healthy Communities Partnership will host a substance-free bowling party on Sunday at Logan Lanes in Lincoln. Families are invited for an afternoon of free bowling, free food and free giveaways — all while celebrating a substance-free lifestyle. Bowling will be available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Alcohol use by young people is extremely dangerous — both to themselves and to society — and is directly associated with traffic fatalities, violence, suicide, educational failure, alcohol overdose, unsafe sex and other problem behaviors. Annually, over 6,500 people under the age of 21 die from alcohol-related accidents, and thousands more are injured.

Additionally:

• Alcohol is the No. 1 drug of choice for America's young people and is more likely to kill young people than all illegal drugs combined.

• Each day, 7,000 kids in the United States under the age of 16 take their first drink.

• Those who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcoholism than those who begin at age 21.

• More than 1,700 college students in the U.S. are killed each year — about 4.65 a day — as a result of alcohol-related injuries.

• 25 percent of U.S. children are exposed to alcohol-use disorders in their family.

• Underage alcohol use costs the nation an estimated $62 billion annually.

Reducing underage drinking is critical to securing a healthy future for America's youth and requires a cooperative effort from parents, schools, community organizations, business leaders, government agencies, the entertainment industry, alcohol manufacturers and retailers, and young people.

"Underage drinking is a complex issue," says Greg Muth, chairman of the NCADD board of directors, "one that can only be solved through a sustained and cooperative effort. As a nation, we need to wake up to the reality that for some, alcoholism and addiction develop at a young age and that intervention, treatment and recovery support are essential for them and their families. We can't afford to wait any longer."

An integral part of Alcohol Awareness Month is Alcohol-Free Weekend, April 4-6, which is designed to raise public awareness about the use of alcohol and how it may be affecting individuals, families and the community.

During this 72-hour period, NCADD extends an open invitation to all Americans, young and old, to participate in three alcohol-free days and use this time to contact local NCADD affiliates and other alcoholism agencies to learn more about alcoholism and its early symptoms.

For more information about NCADD, underage drinking, NCADD Alcohol Awareness Month and NCADD Alcohol-Free Weekend, visit the NCADD website at www.ncadd.org.

For more information on the Healthy Communities Partnership, visit www.healthycommunitiespartnership.com or email [e-mail].

[Text from file received from the Healthy Communities Partnership and the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence]

The Healthy Communities Partnership is a community collaboration connecting organizations, businesses, individuals and churches in support of creating a healthy Logan County. Follow on Twitter: @HealthyCP.