Norwalk Parents, the data is in!

We have good news for you; 75% of 11th grade students do not drink alcohol at all. The bad news is that the remaining 25% of the students are at risk of becoming alcohol dependent as adults. A report published by the National Institutes of Health in 2006 states that 47% of teens who begin drinking before the age of 14 will become alcohol dependent by age 21. The Norwalk- La Mirada School District 2013-2014 California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) asked 11th graders when they started drinking. 28% of the students started drinking at the age of 13 and 14. Also alarming is that the 28% is an increase from 25% according to 2011-2012 CHKS data.

Parents, we know that 21 is the legal drinking age. However, in our community it appears normal for our youth to drink alcohol and also, for adults to provide alcohol for youth at home. We have heard such things as “a little sip won’t hurt,” and “I would rather have the kids drink at home than do it somewhere else.” We have heard that some view it as a “Rite of Passage,” especially at the high school ages. If this indeed is becoming a pattern and accepted socially in our community, you may ask, “Is there anything we can do to combat these troubling norms that are being established?” The answers may not come easy, but it starts with all of us together as a community doing our part little by little.

We know that youth are also accessing alcohol by getting adults to buy it for them. Youth will wait outside of stores and ask willing adults to purchase alcohol for them known as The Shoulder Tap. Take heart though residents, our great City of Norwalk has taken on the fight against this issue. In September of this year, through the efforts of local law-enforcement and Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) agents, nine adults were arrested and cited for providing alcohol to minors during a Decoy Buy Operation here in Norwalk. (The Norwalk Patriot, October 7, 2015, Facebook).

Beer Runs are another way youth access alcohol. This form of stealing occurs when youth walk into stores, grab the alcohol, and run out with alcohol in hand. Norwalk City United (NCU), a youth-based Coalition under the guidance of the prevention team at Helpline Youth Counseling (HYC), has focused their efforts on preventing or reducing beer runs among youth. Their goal is to prevent and/or reduce overall youth and young adult substance use in Norwalk. Proactive efforts by NCU and HYC to reduce youth alcohol access at the retail level have been an environmental strategy for over a year and a half. Norwalk City United, along with the Prevention Team, has partnered with 60 alcohol retailers and continues to work on implementing best practices at their stores. These retailers have been provided with various materials and resources to discourage youth from attempting to buy alcohol. The most popular materials given are refrigerator warning signs that inform adults of the possible penalties for providing minors with alcohol.

With the combined efforts and passion of you (the Norwalk Residents), the City of Norwalk, Norwalk City United Coalition, Helpline Youth Counseling Prevention Team, and local retailers, we can continue to create awareness of the growing problem of underage drinking. We can motivate our youth to make healthier choices not to drink alcohol and encourage our retailers towards best alcohol sales practices. We all need to come together as a community and say, “We will no longer tolerate underage youth drinking alcohol in our community.”

You want to be part of Norwalk City United? Anyone can join!!

Contact Maurina Cintron @ mcintron@hycinc.org

Joel Reynoza @ jreynoza@hycinc.org

Steve Moua @

smoua@hycinc.org

or call (562) 926-5566 ext 24689