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Trevor Diaz Dodson English III ap 12 March, 2013 Under-age Drinking Under-age drinking is a tremendous issue not only in Central Louisiana but also throughout the whole nation. It is a problem that all parents, and or guardians, should be aware of. In order to help cut down the percentage of under age DUI’s In Central Louisiana one could create a community club, strengthen identification policies, and even harshen the consequences of current underage DUI’s. Community Help When dealing with cases of underage alcohol abuse the closest resource would be one’s community. Whether its a close group of friends, a sports team, or a rehabilitation center, there should be a plentiful amount of helpful sources to pursue. The nationally recognized organization, known as The Boys and Girls Club, plants itself in communities across the states and offers “A safe place to learn and grow-all while having fun.” This club tries to reach out to kids in the community who do not want to get sucked into bad situation by there peers, but instead grow and develop as a healthy young man/woman (“Why Boys and Girls Clubs”). A close group of friends that are healthy to hang around and offer an incentive to control drinking habits is also extremely helpful. The old saying “you are who you hang around” proves itself true, if you are going to hang around people who drink and drive, then you will most likely do the same. A lot of the time sports teams that are competitive are good accountability groups and

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can provide a type of safe zone for teenagers who are having trouble finding a healthy group of friends. For example, in Alexandria, Crossroads Soccer Association is a club soccer team that travels across the state to compete in different tournaments and leagues. When dealing with serious cases that cause harm to themselves and others, one may consider a rehabilitation program. Curtesy of the All Treatment Rehab Directory, here is a list of rehabilitation centers across the state: 1) LHRC Reality House Baton Rouge, LA 2) Odyssey House New Orleans, LA 3) Ruston Addictive Disorders Clinic Ruston, LA 4) Brentwood Hospital Shreveport LA 5) Cavanaugh Treatment Center Bossier City, LA All of these centers are made specially to rehabilitate or eliminate previous bad habits and replace them with good ones. This way the risk of DUI’s or recurrences of DUI’s and DWI’s may be eliminated (“Youth Treatment Centers in Louisiana”). Risks of Underage Drinking and Awareness The risks of under-age drinking are very serious, even lethal; therefore, the awareness of these risks is extremely imperative. The article “Underage Drinking in Louisiana: The facts,” presented by the Pacific Institute for Research and Education, has some facts to share about the harm caused by underage drinking Statewide: • 231,000 are underage customers in Louisiana and drink what they purchase • in 2009 Louisiana students grades 9-12 reported: -73.5% had one or more drinks in their life

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-26.9% had their first drink before the age of 13 -47.5% had at least one drink of alcohol on 1 or more occasions in the past 30 days -24.6% binge drank in the past 30 days -5.6%had at least one drink of alcohol on school property in the last 30 days • During 2009, an estimated 57 traffic fatalities and 3,015 non fatal traffic injuries were a result of underage DUI’s • 64 homicides; 20,600 violent crimes such as rape, armed robbery, and assault; and 33,400 property crimes from drinking • in 2007 6 alcohol related burnings, drownings and suicides occurred. These harmful occurrences are only that of which happened state wide, one could only imagine how much pain and suffering underage drinking caused nation wide. These consequences affected many innocent lives and should be tolerable by no extent, whether it be by the ramifications of a parent or of the law (“Under Age Drinking in Louisiana: The Facts”). Strengthening identification policies may help limit the amount of underage