Avoyelles Community/Youth Coalition targets underage drinking

Alcohol is a major part of many lives in Louisiana and in Avoyelles Parish. The state has a reputation for “living hard and playing hard.”

While the legal age to purchase alcoholic beverages is 21, the state allows those between 18-21 to drink in public with a parent’s permission.

Another unique twist on the law is that an 18-year-old can go into a bar as long as he doesn’t drink an alcoholic beverage.

Other states do not make such an exceptions in their underage drinking statutes.

With such a laissez faire attitude toward imbibing intoxicating drinks, it should be no surprise that underage drinking poses a problem -- especially in Avoyelles Parish, which is in the top 10 parishes for underage drinking,

Donna Desoto, chairwoman of the Avoyelles Community & Youth Coalition, said the organization will focus on combatting underage drinking in the coming year.

In the past, ACYC has emphasized suicide prevention efforts and addressed bullying and truancy in schools.

ACYC is a non-profit organization comprised of social service professionals, educators and concerned citizens.

There are 60 members of the organization, which meets at noon on the third Tuesday of the month in the Tunica-Biloxi gym on the tribe’s reservation in Marksville.

STATE SURVEY RESULTS

The state Office of Behavioral Health conducts a “Community Caring Youth Survey” in grades 6-12 every other year. The survey results from 2018 should be released later this year.

When Desoto reviewed the 2016 results on underage drinking in the state, she saw several disturbing findings.

The parish was:

-- 2nd in binge drinking by youth, with 16.9 percent. Excess risk is 6.5 percent.
-- 4th in the percentage of youth having had five or more alcoholic drinks in the past 30 days, at 25.7 percent. The state average was 18.1 percent.
-- 6th in youth drinking with other relative providing alcohol, with 39 percent. Excess risk is 15.1 percent. The state average is 23.9 percent.
-- 7th in youth drinking with parental permission, with 29.4 percent. “Excess risk” is anything over 7.5 percent. The state average is 21.9 percent
-- High rate of non-relative adults purchasing alcohol for the youth, with 35.6 percent. The state average is 30.4 percent..

Desoto said the problem is not just high school-aged teenagers. The age of Avoyelles Parish drinkers begins as young as 9.

“This is a serious and important issue for many reasons,” Desoto said. “First of all, alcohol hampers brain development -- especially in very young children. We want those young brains to develop normally.

“Second, there are the risks involved in early drinking,” she continued. “If they continue to drink, they could drink more often and start drinking harder liquor instead of beer. A pattern of drinking could be established during their teen years that stays with them as adults.

“It is important to avoid the use of alcohol at a young age.”

Desoto said she has heard many accounts from men who said their father, uncle or brothers would give them alcohol on hunting and fishing trips.

“It is also not unusual for people to have been allowed to drink at home when they were young,” she added.

Desoto said Avoyelles’ fellow French Louisiana neighbors, Evangeline and St. Landry, were also high in the alcohol-use survey.

“They call us the ‘party parishes.’” Desoto said.

With alcohol use being so prevalent in Avoyelles culture and traditions, it is not unusual that it ranked 10th lowest among the 64 parishes for a perception that alcohol use poses a health risk or harm.

ACYC ACTION PLAN

ACYC’s action plan to bring awareness of the underage drinking problem and to hopefully change attitudes about it includes having a presence at the festivals where information on the issue will be available.

The organization is also encouraging high schools to hold alcohol-free graduation events, such as Avoyelles Public Charter has hosted for the past five years.

DeSoto said merchants who sell alcohol need to be an active partner in efforts to deter use by those 18 and younger.

The state report found Avoyelles ranked first in alcohol purchased with a fake ID, with 5.3 percent. It was third, at 8.6 percent, for underage customers purchasing alcohol without showing an ID.

Statewide results showed 5.1 percent buying without an ID and 3.1 percent with a fake ID.

Parents don’t have to actively encourage their children to drink. If alcohol is in the house and the child is in the house without supervision, there is the possibility of an underage drinker.

In the study, 16.2 percent of Avoyelles youth surveyed said they drank alcohol at home without their parents’ permission. That compares to 15.5 percent statewide.

DeSoto said getting the schools involved will be the best way to reach youth who are either already underage drinkers or may be tempted to become one.

“We are trying to start an ACYC chapter in each of the high schools,” DeSoto said. “In September we will print our first magazine, written and prepared by the youth.“

The magazine will be published either twice a year or quarterly.

‘PROJECT GRADUATION’

The “Project Graduation” events -- and possibly similar activities for Homecoming proms -- is also a way to directly reach teenagers and steer them away from alcohol.

“They need to know that they can have a good time without alcohol being involved,” DeSoto said.

The APCS event has grown each year and is now a school tradition. Parents raised over $13,500 to fund Project Graduation.”

LaShanda Hawkins of Hessmer was a parent on APCS’ graduation committee for this past year.

“ACYC partnered with us to document the event for use in the organization’s magazine,” Hawkins said. “The event was a time for the 62 graduating seniors to bond, completely in an alcohol-free environment.”

The event was held at Gator Grounds water park.

“We had the whole water park to ourselves,” Hawkins said. “The seniors were under supervision of parents but they all had a good time.”

Activities during the all-night party included a hypnotist who came in around 1 a.m. to provide entertainment. Food and beverages were available throughout the event.

The students were picked up in the Paragon Casino Resort parking lot and taken by bus to the RV resort/water park in Bayhills.

“They were unable to leave the grounds until their parents picked them up the next morning,” Hawkins noted.

TAKES TEAMWORK

As is the case with any successful effort, it takes more than just a small group of parents and volunteers to make the event successful and worthwhile.

It takes teamwork.

“There were many businesses who helped make this project work,” Hawkins said. “There was also tremendous community support. Each student received gifts of over $250.

Lauri Knoll of Marksville said she appreciated the alcohol-free graduation party because she had “no worries concerning post-graduation parties and the risk of drinking and driving for him, as well as the other fellow-students.

She said the fact that it was a parent-supervised “lock-in” party was also a plus because “no one was able to leave unsupervised or drive away in their own vehicles, and there was absolutely no drinking.”

“I was very happy to offer my time in order to provide a safe, exciting event for our senior students,” parent Wendy McCann said.

“I felt the event was an overall success because 95 percent of the students attended, parents worked very hard to secure donations, parents communicated often and students connected all in one safe place without alcohol for their last night together as the Class of 2019.”