SAFE Glen Cove Coalition: Alcohol & Kids: A Dangerous Mix

On November 30th the SAFE Glen Cove and Long Beach Coalitions continued their partnership to educate youth and adults about underage alcohol use, binge drinking and Social Host Law. As we are in the holiday season and still in a pandemic, this virtual prevention education event is being held at the right time.

Mr. Steve Chassman, Executive Director of the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD) was the guest speaker for the evening, shared his knowledge on how COVID-19 has caused an increase in alcohol, substance use and mental illness. Alcohol consumption in youth is a major concern. Mr. Chassman spoke on this issue along with presenting facts and statistics on individuals who use alcohol at a young age. “It can be difficult to assess whether a child/adolescent is ‘just experimenting’ or if they’re struggling with their drinking potentially leading to an alcohol use disorder… it is important to understand that any alcohol use is an issue when a child is underage. If an individual is 21 or older, it’s important to keep an eye out for any signs of a problem.”

The SAFE and Long Beach Coalitions have a longstanding history of working collaboratively to implement environmental strategies in the two "sister cities". In 2006, the SAFE Glen Cove and Long Beach Aware Coalition's spearheaded the adoption of Nassau County's first "Social Host" Law, which makes it a violation for adults to permit alcohol use in their homes by persons under the age of 21. In 2007, the law was adopted county-wide. Within both Cities it is a violation and Social Host laws are meant to be a deterrent. The law has served as an example for 18 counties and 43 municipalities across the state to date as coalitions across the state linked up through the NYS Substance Abuse Prevention Task Force to implement Social Host Law state-wide.

According to Mr. Chassman, “Alcohol is America’s most lethal drug”. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) information that was published in 2021, stating “Studies show a direct correlation between underage drinking behaviors and the drinking behaviors of adult relatives, adults in the same household, and adults in the same community/state. A 5% increase in binge drinking among adults in a community is associated with a 12% increase in the chance of underage drinking. Adolescents whose parents binge drink are more likely to binge drink than those who do not.” The presentation went on to show videos and prevention efforts as it provided recommendations by The Community Preventive Services Task Force on the following effective strategies for preventing excessive/binge drinking (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2021):

After the presentation, the audience was offered time to ask questions and provide any comments regarding the event’s topic. As the audience consisted of a blend of representatives that include SAFE Board of Directors, SAFE Glen Cove Coalition members, SAFE staff, Ms. Vullin, City of Glen Cove Mayor’s office, Glen Cove Youth Bureau, Glen Cove School District Administration, parents and concerned citizens and professionals from other organizations.

SAFE Inc. is the only alcohol and substance use prevention agency in Glen Cove. To learn more about SAFE and its Coalition, please follow us on www.facebook.com/safeglencovecoalition or visit SAFE’s website to learn more about the COVID-19 Epidemic and its correlation to increased mental illness, alcohol and substance use at www.safeglencove.org.

To learn more about LICADD please visit https://www.licadd.org. If you or a loved one is suffering with a substance use disorder please contact the LICADD hotline for help at 1-631-979-1700.