“Everyone has a personal story,” Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said at Monday night’s Kekaha underage drinking town hall meeting. “That’s why we’ve assembled a good team — to deal with this issue on Kaua‘i.” Carvalho was addressing the dozens of
“Everyone has a personal story,” Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said at Monday night’s Kekaha underage drinking town hall meeting. “That’s why we’ve assembled a good team — to deal with this issue on Kaua‘i.”
Carvalho was addressing the dozens of Westside residents who turned out for the alcohol-related educational event, co-hosted as part of April as Alcohol Awareness Month by the Anti-Drug Program office and the Boys and Girls Club with funding from a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant, a county news release states. One more meeting of its kind will take place from 5:30 to 8 p.m., April 26, at the Anahola Clubhouse.
The event included several experts in various aspects of the issue of underage drinking, with compelling highlights including a compiled video featuring shock-worthy images posted by local youths on their MySpace pages. Such images included piles of passed-out teens with Sharpie-marked faces boasting foul language placed there by their peers.
Explaining the seriousness of the risk of alcoholism among youth, Gina Kaulaukukui, domestic violence coordinator for the Kaua‘i Police Department and chair of the Hawai’i Suicide Prevention Task Force, said stress is one of the causes of underage drinking.
One of the major stresses youths face on Kaua‘i, she added, is domestic violence — which has been on the rise.
Another unfortunate trend on the rise on the island, Sgt. Ken Carvalho said during the presentation, is failure to card minors.
Referring to recent “sting ops,” Carvalho said the compliance rate was 38 percent. “I was thinking it would be maybe 10 percent,” he said. “That is just ridiculously sad.”
According to Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant Project Specialist Amanda C. Gregg, the County will be using $1.2 million from a SAMHSA grant to implement evidence-based programs in upcoming months designed to offer Kaua’i youth alternatives to alcohol.
The programs are designed to take preventative action and make an impact in youths’ lives. While it’s not yet determined which programs will be implemented, they will address all areas of the island, Gregg said.
Anti-Drug Coordinator Theresa C. Koki said the Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant is something the Anti-Drug Program office has been working to get for two years, adding, “And the hope is that it will move the needle for underage drinking.”
To learn more about the Anti-Drug Program office, http://www.kauai.gov/Government/OfficeoftheMayor/AntiDrugProgramOffice/tabid/150/Default.aspx.
