SMETHPORT – In order to help curb underage drinking, parents can
have a major impact by talking to their children at an early age by
following the advice summed up in the slogan “Start Talking Before
They Start Drinking.”

That was the message that came out of a town meeting held
Tuesday morning at the Courtyard Restaurant in Smethport to discuss
the problem that has spread throughout the entire country.

Hosted by the McKean County Collaborative Board and facilitated
by the McKean County Family Centers, the meeting brought together
community leaders in government, ministry, community agencies, as
well as parents. This meeting and another one last night in Kane,
were both sponsored by the federal government’s interagency
Coordinating Committee for the Prevention of Underage Drinking.

According to a video that was shown at the start of the meeting,
parents of students as young as middle school age are being
encouraged to talk with their children about the dangers of youth
substance abuse. Continuing those talks is highly recommended,
too.

National statistics show that 30 percent of young people between
the ages of 12-20 drink regularly. Those who begin drinking under
the age of 15 are five times more likely to become alcoholics.

Even though underage drinking leads to violence, truancy,
injuries, unwanted sexual advances, and prevents students from
reaching their full potential, today’s culture in many cases still
accepts this practice as the norm. Underage drinking is much more a
serious problem than the public realizes, according to the video.
It is usually associated as a rite of passage to adulthood, but
this attitude does not have to be accepted.

Often, parents take a hypocritical view of underage drinking, by
saying, “I drank before I was 21, and I turned out OK.”

Besides parents, children’s peers can be an effective means of
warning children about the dangers of underage drinking. Elementary
students often look up to older students and are more likely to
listen to their advice,” said the narrator of the video.

The Reach Out Now program sponsored by Scholastic Magazines has
achieved excellent results with materials it produces for use in
“teach-ins.”

When there is a sustained, comprehensive program at a national
level there has been a reduction of drug and tobacco usage. The
same can be done with underage drinking.

Following the video, Brian Bumbarger, director of policy
research at the Prevention Research Center at The Pennsylvania
State University, reviewed some disturbing statistics on underage
drinking. “Alcohol kills more young people than all other illegal
drugs combined, and by eighth grade, one-half of the students have
tried alcohol.”

For McKean County, and based on self-reports, four percent of
sixth graders drink regularly, and by eighth grade that figure
increases to 17 percent. By the time students are seniors, the rate
has reached 50 percent.

Bumbarger said, “These statistics do not mean that McKean County
is a bad place to live; it’s like that everywhere. But they should
lay the groundwork to raise awareness. We need to take the problem
by the horns and address it.”

Members of a panel offered comments on underage drinking. One
parent noted the presence of beer tents at public events give young
people the wrong impression about drinking.

According to a young person on the panel, it “is too easy to get
alcohol. Parents should treat it like medicine by putting it where
we can’t get it.”

The Rev. Max Simms, another panel member, mentioned the need to
“get back to family values and let the children know their parents
support them in their activities.”

The church can be of great value in the fight against underage
drinking, Simms said. “For too long, the church has been kept out
of the loop for fear of pushing religion.”

Several other members of the audience agreed with Simms as to
the church’s role. The Rev. Vincent Cieslewicz, pastor of St.
Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Smethport, spoke about the success
of the Wednesday night “hangouts” which were held on the church
grounds and provided for various activities in a safe environment,
for more than five years. However, last year, the time for these
had to shortened due to a shortage of adult involvement.

Patricia Bowman, an aide to U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.,
suggested ministeriums in the towns could join with the community
in the fight against underage drinking.

An aide to state Sen. Joe Scarnati, R-Brockway, asked what the
state can do to help with the problem.

This prompted an enthusiastic response from Bumbarger who said,
“Stop funding things that don’t work. Pennsylvania pours too much
money into things that do not work. It’s often hard to stop this
practice because often the programs are pet projects that have
existed for a long time. Customer satisfaction is not saving the
children.”

One exception is the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and
Delinquency, which has invested in evidenced-based programs,
Bumbarger said. At the same time, though, the agency faced a
shortage of funding for excellent projects.

Examples of other programs helping to combat underage drinking
are parenting programs offered at the county’s Family Centers and
PROSPER, an innovative program that uses proven prevention
techniques and is offered through the Penn State Cooperative
Extension Service.