Somerset County to focus on young adult alcohol abuse

SOMERVILLE — About 400 people are expected to attend a program April 28 at Raritan Valley Community College as part of a countywide initiative to combat alcohol abuse among teenagers and young adults.

The HOPE (Healthy Options for Prevention and Education) community forum will feature presentations by people who have been found guilty of alcohol-related crimes and panel discussions by both professionals and young adults.

John Bell, co-host of the Z100 morning show, and a special guest celebrity, not officially named, also will participate in the two-hour program presented by the Courier News and EmPoWER Somerset, the new name of the Somerset Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency.

The community forum is part of EmPoWER Somerset’s SIPS (Somerset’s Initiative for Partying Safely) program launched late in 2009 as a community health program targeted at individuals age 18 to 25 to prevent binge drinking and other harmful substance abuse. The program is funded by a three-year $572,328 Strategic Framework State Incentive Grant from the N.J. Department of Human Services.

In the weeks before the program, the Courier News, Home News Tribune and MyCentralJersey.com will be publishing guest columns delivering perspectives on the use of alcohol in the 18 to 25 age group in Somerset County.

SIPS already is making progress in defining the extent of alcohol use among teens and young adults, Anthony Ferrera, director of operations for EmPOWER Somerset, said Tuesday at the quarterly meeting of the SIPS’ community Advisory Panel.

The organization has conducted eight focus groups on drinking practices and attitudes, Ferrera said.

One of the findings is that drinking patterns are affected by cost, he said, saying that young people know which bars have cheap beer nights on which days of the week.

He also said the program has learned that many young people are smuggling vodka in water bottles into establishments then mixing the vodka with soda.

A review of police records indicate that the five municipalities with the most drunken-driving arrests among young adults are Bridgewater, Hillsborough, Franklin, North Plainfield and Manville, he said.

Data from those focus groups will be used in designing a campaign targeting the young adults, said Sharon Lutz, executive director of EmPOWER Somerset.

Hillsborough Police Chief Paul Kaminsky said police throughout the county are considering the creation of a countywide Cops in Shops task force. In this program, plain-clothes officers work in liquor establishments to apprehend underage individuals attempting to buy alcohol.

The countywide initiative will help municipalities with smaller police departments because of shared resources, Kaminsky said.

Michael Deak: 908-243-6611; moc.yesreJlartneCyM@kaedm