News Release

March 9, 2006
News Release Contact:
Becky Gettings - (804) 213-4419
E-mail: pubrel@abc.virginia.gov

Richmond to Come Together March 20 for Town Meeting on Underage Drinking

Richmond is one of the first communities to schedule a Town Hall Meeting as part of a nationwide effort to alert communities on the risks of underage drinking, and to empower citizens to take action. The Regional Drug-Free Alliance is partnering with Virginia ABC, MADD Virginia, Richmond Behavioral Health Authority, Friends of Prevention Coalition and Virginia College Parents to sponsor the Richmond meeting on March 20.

Communities across America are holding these meetings in late March, supported by the Federal Government's Interagency Coordinating Committee for the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD). Town Hall Meetings educate parents, teachers, officials and other community members about the impact underage drinking has on the community and its youth, and the impact parents and other role models can have on youth decision making.

"What parents may not realize," says Charles G. Curie, chairman of ICCPUD and administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, "is that children say that their parents' disapproval of underage drinking is the key reason they have chosen not to drink." Underage drinking is an important community concern. Statistics show that by the time students reach the eighth grade, 41 percent have had at least one drink, and almost 20 percent report having been intoxicated.

The Richmond Town Hall Meeting will be held on Monday, March 20, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Central Office, 2901 Hermitage Road, Richmond 23220. The public is welcome and light refreshments will be served.