Alaska Island Community Services received funding earlier this month from the State of Alaska to help prevent the use of alcohol among youths age 12-20 in Wrangell and Petersburg.
The Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant, or SPFSIG, is a program under the auspices of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s infrastructure grant program that helps grantees build and deliver substance abuse and mental health services in Alaska and 48 other states.
According to Desiré Shepler of AICS, the grant will be administered in partnership with Petersburg Mental Health and the related studies will focus on assessing and recognizing how underage drinking can be abated in the region.
“The SPFSIG recognizes that the two biggest needs in Alaska are adult heavy-and-binge drinking, and youths between the ages of 12-20 drinking,” Shepler said. “The state invited communities to apply, so we partnered with Petersburg and completed an application to use the grant to address those two issues in the community.”
Shepler added that the process for addressing the needs in both communities is just beginning.
“We’re starting with the kids’ assessment in December, that is our first step,” Shepler added. “It’s very important for both communities. We have been working on these issues for a number of years separately before, but now we’re in it together. Specifically, in Wrangell, youth drinking is an issue of great importance and needs to be addressed. It’s exciting to have the state backing us on this issue.”
Kim Kilkenny, a therapist with Petersburg Mental Health, is Shepler’s counterpart on Mitkof Island – and is just as dedicated to solving the problem of underage drinking on the island.
“It’s a significant problem in Petersburg,” Kilkenny said. “Last year we had two kids in the emergency room and also a near-death experience. After that, we started to focus on substance abuse for both kids and adults. Kids will make impulsive decisions, so we decided to focus on having the courts charge those adults responsible for providing alcohol to minors.”
According to Kilkenny, over the last year, a coalition of parents, community members, the City of Petersburg, and clinicians attended the court hearings of any adult charged with distributing alcohol to minors.
“We made sure every plea deal was rejected until the offenders got at least 30 days in jail,” Kilkenny said.
In order to assess what strategies would be most effective in helping young people who may be at danger of alcohol use, AICS is seeking information from Wrangell High School and Stikine Middle School students about what specific attitudes and perceptions youth have related to alcohol in our communities.
Aside from asking the age of each child or teen opting to answer, the survey asks him or her to list the top three problems they see in the community caused by alcohol use, to list the top three strengths they see in the community to deal with the problems caused by alcohol use, and to identify their greatest concerns, as they see it, when it comes to alcohol use among peers and others.
In Wrangell, for those minors who get caught imbibing illegally, youth court is an option for first-time offenders.
According to youth court coordinator Dorothea Rooney, three Wrangell teens have gone through the system since January.
“You have to remember that the court is only for first-time offenders,” Rooney said. “If they get a second offense they are no longer able to go through it.”
According to a study by the State of Alaska, issues which arise from underage drinking cost taxpayers an estimated $317 million each year. Those issues include youth violence, and car and boating accidents.
The Youth Community Needs Survey will be distributed to parents and students this week and will be reviewed by AICS staff in the coming month. Parents will receive a withdrawal of permission form that must be returned to their child’s school by Thursday, Dec. 1 if they wish to revoke permission for their child to participate.
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