Community can help find solution to teen drinking

Courier News, Home News Tribune, myCentralJersey.com

By Tichina Smith

Alcohol is sometimes overlooked when one thinks of the word "addiction" and having an addiction and having it alter your life. Some people may take it lightly and assume that this is a habit one could get rid of, even at an early age.

However, recent findings have shown that pubescent youth are taking their first drink younger and younger each year, making it difficult to "kick the habit" later on in their adult lives.

While working at Somerset Home for Temporarily Displaced Children in Bridgewater, I have seen the various effects alcohol can have on a young person’s life within the age range of 18 to 25. These young people are disabled mentally, damaged emotionally and challenged socially.

This sometimes may follow them throughout their whole adult lives, all because of wanting to look "cool" among their friends at the tender age of 18.

It seems to me that peer pressure has a lot to do with their decisions at that age. There are a lot of "drinking rules" on college campuses — however, are they enforced? No.

There has to be a better way of enforcing the alcohol policies on college campuses. The consequences of alcohol consumption are great. To name a few: One may get addicted, have tremendous health problems, and, the greatest of them all, they may die due to the alcohol consumption.

I encourage you to do something for a young person to make them aware of the many negative consequences of alcohol. Inquire about support groups at your local hospital and take a young person with you fighting this disease just so they can see firsthand what the harmful effects are of alcohol. Speaking from past experiences dealing with youth with alcohol addictions, I encourage you, the community, to be there for them and support them.

There has to be a better way in getting the word out to the youth that alcoholism is real and it’s not beneficial to them and their future. They suffer as young adults, and the people that love them suffer as well. They are creating a terrible situation for their futures. The youth suffer in school; they suffer at home, and most of all, they suffer within themselves.

Although the legal age is 21 years of age, some youth may still consume too much. It’s no longer casual drinking; it’s excessive drinking. I implore you to come and try to find a solution on how we can put forth a strong effort in stopping the excessive alcohol consumption of youth 18 to 25 in the community.

Come out to the Somerset’s Initiative for Partying Safely (SIPS)/Healthy Options for Prevention and Education (HOPE) Community Forum on April 28, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Raritan Valley Community College to discuss this serious issue and most of all, come up with a solution.

We all can help.

Tichina Smith is an independent living skills counselor at the Somerset Home for Temporarily Displaced Children.