Safety Matters: Observing alcohol awareness month

This April was designated Alcohol Awareness Month and we are reintroducing an ongoing initiative called Project Sticker Shock. This is a community awareness campaign aimed at educating people 21 years of age or older who might illegally buy and provide alcohol to minors. Project Sticker Shock is in full swing, as stickers, posters and other media warning messages are being pasted on multi-packs of beer, wine coolers and other alcohol products, sold at participating stores, that might appeal to underage drinkers.

The timing couldn’t be better, with the upcoming prom and graduation season upon us. Too many adults accept underage drinking as a rite of passage. The true rite that young people deserve is to have a prom or graduation night full of fun, hope, promise and great memories, not a night that carries with it potentially life-long consequences. I encourage adults to never serve or buy alcohol for minors. It is also illegal to give alcohol to any minor even if his or her parents say it is okay. There are laws on the books for a reason and we have a duty to enforce them. If you are caught providing alcohol to a minor, you could be subject to fines of up to $1,000 and/or a year in jail. Our deputies made a total of 89 arrests last year for either possession of alcohol by a person younger than 21 years of age or for buying alcohol for a person younger than 21.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to remind folks of our Underage Drinking Tipline: 1-800-851-1932. Concerned adults, teachers, students and friends have a number to call anonymously and confidentially, 24 hours a day, to report underage drinking parties or other activities that are harmful to the health, safety and welfare of our young people. Sheriffs in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties are partnering with us in helping to promote this safety net for young people.

Communities across the county are engaged in a constant effort to keep young people healthy, safe and free of abuse of alcohol and other dangerous drugs. We are forever striving to do all we can to encourage young people to avoid making terrible choices that could have lifelong or even life-ending consequences. Won’t you please help us and do your part?