Town Hall Meeting aimed at Underage Drinking Prevention

Governor Linda Lingle yesterday proclaimed April as Alcohol Awareness Month in the state of Hawaii.  Here on Maui, the county is hosting a town hall meeting tonight (Wednesday, April 14, 2010) to discuss underage drinking prevention.  The county obtained $1.46 million in state and federal funding to address the issue.  The meeting runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the MEO offices in Wailuku.

The Hawaii Partnership for the Prevention of Underage Drinking (HPPUD), in conjunction with the County of Maui Department of Housing & Human Concerns are hosting the meeting.

The group encourages stakeholders, including public and private agencies that service youth, along with families, sports club representatives, other community members and members of the County Advisory Council (CAC) to attend the meeting.  Participants will be given the chance to exchange ideas and learn more about planned activities.

The CAC is the community agency that assisted with obtaining $1.46 million in grant funding for underage drinking prevention through the State of Hawaii Department of Health and through the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Funds are earmarked for promoting the prevention of underage drinking on all three islands within Maui County.

Grant funds through the County of Maui will be available to agencies and other stakeholders through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process.

During a prior town hall meeting held on April 5th, an “Alcohol Awareness Month” proclamation was presented by Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares. The observance during the month of April calls attention to the statistics and prevention efforts related to alcohol use.

Public Service Announcements developed by youth through MEO’s Youth Bank were shown for the first time at the April 5th meeting, and will be aired on AKAKU, Maui Community Television.

(Posted by Wendy Osher; Supporting information provided by the County of Maui)