Kids and families enjoy a substance-free afternoon at the bowling alley

[April 08, 2014]  Celebrating a substance-free lifestyle, the Healthy Communities Partnership played host to a bowling party on Sunday. Kids and families were treated to free bowling, food and other giveaways at Logan Lanes.

Community volunteers and a variety of professionals were on hand to serve food and set up displays that encouraged healthy eating and staying fit as well as providing information on the hazards of substance abuse. Participants were encouraged to fill out surveys.

More than anything else, the event was about bringing family and friends together for an afternoon of good, clean fun, and there was plenty of that going on down near the alleys.

With April being Alcohol Awareness Month, the event was also to increase the public's knowledge and understanding of alcohol impacts.

According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, underage drinking, is a problem with devastating consequences for individuals, families and communities.

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 was Alcohol-Free Weekend, April 4-6, designed to raise public awareness about the use of alcohol and how it may be affecting individuals, families and the community.

NCADD extended 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].

[LDN, National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and the Healthy Communities Partnership]

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.