Meeting targets underage drinking

 

 

A coalition of Lake County service providers will host a "Town Hall Meeting on Underage Drinking" on Tuesday, April 11, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Carmel High School in Mundelein.

Lake County will join hundreds of communities nationwide in holding a meeting on this issue.

Organizations sponsoring the meeting include the Illinois Department of Human Services, Lake County Health Department, College of Lake County, Lake County InTouch, Nicasa, the Mundelein Police Department, and the Lake County After School Coalition.

Organizers said the purpose of the meeting is to share new research on the risks associated with underage drinking and empower the community to take action.

"The attitude is that it's OK," said Mundelein Police Chief Raymond Rose, co-president of the Lake County After School Coalition. "But we have to stand together as a community and remind people it's not OK. "

The federal government's Interagency Coordinating Committee for the Prevention of Underage Drinking is providing support for town hall meetings taking place in communities across America this spring.

"We are working with leaders throughout the community to keep kids away from the pressures to use drugs and alcohol," said state Rep. Kathy Ryg, D-Vernon Hills, co-president of the Lake County After School Coalition. "It's important that we discuss this issue as a community so that everyone can be a part of the solution."

The goal of the town hall meeting is to educate parents, teachers, officials, youth, and other community members about the impact underage drinking has on the community. Together, moderators will facilitate discussions over possible ways to address the issue in Lake County.

Concurrent meetings will be held in English and Spanish.

The town hall meeting will be held at Carmel High School, 1 Carmel Parkway, Mundelein. For more information, visit www.lakecountyafterschoolcoalition.org , or contact Ryg's office at (847) 680-5909.