Although most of the country is still feeling Old Man Winter’s chill in the air, many coalitions are working on their spring break prevention plans. Coalitions who are working on campaigns to curb binge and underage drinking during the upcoming spring break, prom, and graduation season will want to refresh their toolkits with some resources developed by CADCA.

With alcohol abuse continuing to be the nation’s biggest problem among youth, CADCA’s publication to help coalitions tackle underage drinking and impaired driving in their community, Strategizer 54 – A Community’s Call to Action: Underage Drinking and Impaired Driving is meant to help prevention practitioners create multi-layered prevention and intervention strategies to curb underage drinking among teens, and to prevent impaired driving among young adults ages 21-24. Developed in partnership with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Strategizer 54 provides the facts, strategies and resources that coalitions and MADD Affiliates can use to address these issues in their communities.

Among the topics covered in the Strategizer is the science behind youth alcohol use and abuse, examining the biological, social and environmental challenges that make young people particularly vulnerable to saying “yes” to alcohol consumption. The publication also includes an extensive list of strategies and activities that major influencers in the community can use to prevent and reduce youth alcohol use and impaired driving, as well as a Checklist of Alcohol Policy and Priority Indicators. Finally, to help prevention leaders see what their peers are doing to address these issues; Strategizer 54 also includes case studies, highlighting the work of three community-based organizations.

CADCA’s Strategizer 55, Regulating Alcohol Outlet Density: An Action Guide, outlines available evidence-based community prevention strategies shown to decrease the consequences associated with alcohol outlet density, the concentration of bars, restaurants serving alcohol, liquor and package stores in a given geographic area. The publication was developed by CADCA in partnership with the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

What strategies are you implementing in your community to prevent binge and underage drinking in your community this spring break? Share your thoughts on CADCA’s Facebook page.