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Register Staff
3-31-2009 Can you spend 72 hours without a drink of alcohol to serve as an example to local youth?
Those who can, or want to, are being invited by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc., Inyo Health and Human Services, the Alpine Center and the Addictions Task Force to participate in the “Alcohol-Free Weekend” from Friday, April 3 through Sunday, April 5.
The coalition of local and national agencies “asks parents and other adults to abstain from drinking alcoholic beverages for a 72-hour period to demonstrate to young people that alcohol isn’t necessary to have a good time,” a press release from Health and Human Services states.
Alcohol Awareness Month, observed in April since 1987, is a national grassroots effort to support prevention, education, intervention and treatment for alcoholism and alcohol related problems.
This year, the national theme centers on preventing and reducing underage drinking, and Inyo County Health and Human Services is working alongside local agencies and businesses to educate and influence the “cultural norm” surrounding underage drinking.
In 2007, then-acting U.S. Surgeon General Kenneth Moritsugu, M.D., M.P.H., acknowledged that “too many Americans consider underage drinking a rite of passage to adulthood.”
Taking that to heart, Inyo Health and Human Services has focused its prevention efforts towards working as a community to keep kids away from alcohol.
“Every recent survey shows nothing impacts the issue of underage drinking more than parents talking with their kids, sharing their thoughts, their beliefs and values,” said Karen Kong, Inyo County prevention specialist.
Organizers have designed the alcohol-free weekend to serve two purposes. The first, of course, is to serve as a good example to local youth by participating in favorite activities without having a beer or glass of wine – demonstrating that alcohol doesn’t have to be integral part of recreational or even day-to-day activities.
“The Alcohol-Free Weekend is an opportunity for parents to take time during the weekend to show local youth that alcohol is not always involved in outdoor adventures, socializing, evening relaxation and sporting events,” Kong said.
The second purpose of the “Alcohol-Free Weekend” is to give some adults an incentive to remain sober for 72 hours, and provides an opportunity for some to determine whether they may have a drinking problem.
“For those who may experience some difficulty with 72 hours of sobriety, Inyo County treatment professionals will be offering help,” Kong noted.
Counselors will be available between noon and 3 p.m. on Monday, April 6 at Northern Inyo Hospital to talk with residents about concerns and discomfort a weekend without alcohol may cause.
Staff from Health and Human Services will be on hand Monday afternoon with the “Michigan Alcohol Screening Tool,” or MAST, a questionnaire that gives residents an opportunity to critique themselves and identify, on their own, any problems they may have with alcohol.
Residents will also have the opportunity to speak with counselors if they wish.
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