Wednesday forum is way for us-and you-to get involved

By Paul Grzella

Over the course of the past several weeks, we have run a series of opinion pieces written by a variety community leaders on the topics of binge drinking and under-age drinking.

We have another related commentary on today’s opinion page by Sharon Lutz, the executive director of EmPoWER Somerset.

Our goal with these pieces is to shine a spotlight on this issue, and try to get more people to Somerset’s Initiative for Partying Safely (SIPS)/Healthy Options for Prevention and Education (HOPE) community forum on April 28.

The forum will run from 6 to 8 p.m. at Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg, and is open to all. You can still register to attend by visiting EmPoWERsomerset.com and clicking on the community forum registration announcement.

This event also will be livestreamed via video on MyCentralJersey.com.

We have published all of the opinion pieces and are co-sponsoring this event because such partnerships are at the heart of what it means to be a community newspaper and being part of the community. We also have a responsibility to write about topics that impact our readers’ lives, and based upon the statistical data I’ve seen during the event’s planning meetings, the problem of binge and party drinking among 18- to 30-year-olds is a growing problem in our region that we need to recognize, address and try to get under control.

The group putting this event together reflects a broad spectrum of public and private entities, including law enforcement and school officials, social-service agencies, business organizations, faith-based groups, and the restaurant establishments that try so hard to do the right thing for and by their customers. Group members represent countless experiences and stories, and combined, bring diverse potential solutions to the discussion.

But the core group spearheading this effort also needs the help, voices and input of the young people who are directly impacted by binge and party drinking. Our audience is those young people in college and just out of college who might go drinking and then drink too much, and then go out and drive, with potentially life-alternating results.

I have experienced alcoholism among my own family and friends. It is a powerful addiction, and while I know it can be tamed, I also know that once it attacks someone, the person will live with it forever.

Over the years in the newspapers, we’ve also documented in words and photos the destruction that drinking can bring to a variety of lives.

Some of this reality will be reflected in the panelists talking Wednesday; young people who are battling addiction, as well as those who are in long-term recovery and those helping them to achieve it.

The goal of this event is to try to understand how we can make the message resonate with the young people in their teens and 20s who need to hear it most. And this event is only the start of a multi-year effort. Forum organizers want to hear from you about what needs to be done next, and how you can help, including your input for creating a website on the topic.

Start educating yourself by reading today’s piece by Lutz, and the other pieces we’ve previously published; they can be found at www.MyCentralJersey.com/communityadvisoryboard. Then, consider giving a few hours of your time this Wednesday to this important event. But don’t end your involvement there. Make it the first step in becoming more involved in the community you work in and live.

The everyday importance of community involvement struck me twice last week.

The first was when I was standing on Main Street in Somerville last Tuesday watching the participants of the Somerset Patriots parade. The event included youth baseball participants, scouts, fire department volunteers and others who simply were matching down the street, waving to the crowd, and the crowd waving back. Simple enough, for sure, but there was something powerful going on there, as people celebrated their local baseball team and their local fellow local community members.

I also saw dozens of community members in action when I dropped off items for the Visiting Nurse Association of Somerset Hills rummage sale last Friday. Donations are being accepted from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. through this Wednesday, April 28, for the event that runs May 7-9 at the Far Hills fairgrounds.

I dropped off six big bags of books, and it was amazing to watch as volunteers grabbed them immediately and started to sort, price and stack the books. A small army of volunteers is doing the same action for donated household goods, electronics, clothes, bicycles and a host of other items. It was another powerful example of people getting involved and helping their community in a real roll-up-the-sleeves kind of a way.

Now it’s your turn. See you Wednesday.

Paul Grzella is the General Manager/Editor of the Courier News/Home News Tribune.