A town hall meeting will be held Friday to address the issue of underage drinking.
The meeting, which is free and open to the public, is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Life Help Training Center. It is scheduled to last two hours and includes a light lunch.
“This is a collective event that runs through many communities,” said Dorothy Robertson, outpatient substance abuse coordinator with Life Help.
The meeting is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Robertson said the gathering is the first step in an effort to identify needs throughout the region.
“In order to get any kind of funding, you need to do a need assessment. We’re trying to say to the community they need to keep better records,” she said.
With needs assessed, programs can receive funding to address the problem, she said.
Robertson said underage drinking costs the country some $62 billion a year. It also has been linked to crime, violence, poor performance in school and the dropout rate, she said.
Robertson said representatives from law enforcement, social services and faith-based groups will be at the meeting.
“We already have a panel that consists of people from the faith-based community as well as youth, DUI enforcement officers and veterans,” she said.
Robertson said she’d like to see youngsters attend, since they will be out of school for Good Friday.
For more information on the meeting, call Robertson at 299-5404.
Also, Jaymar Nash, intensive outpatient counselor with Life Help and Shirley Outlaw, prevention trainer at Life Help may be contacted at 455-3222.
