Share Ideas at Town Hall about Underage Drinking

With senior prom, graduation and the summer break coming up for teens, community leaders in Novato are shining the spotlight on local efforts to curb teen drinking.

A "town hall" summit is set up for 6 p.m. Thursday at , orchestrated by the nonprofit Novato Blue Ribbon Coalition for Youth and featuring local kids who have the courage to speak up about the binge drinking culture. Marin County Supervisor Judy Arnold and Novato Mayor Denise Athas will present some hard evidence about the urgency of the problem, and experts from the Blue Ribbon Coalition will brief visitors on all the programs in place to help prevent underage drinking.

Most of all, residents are encouraged to participate in the town-hall conversation and share ideas that might work well.

The Novato Blue Ribbon Coalition, which maintains a , is a group of concerned citizens working to educate, impact policies and create positive change to prevent and reduce the high incidence of underage drinking, marijuana use and bullying in the community.

Why is the coalition so determined? For one thing, read about the death of Novato teen in September 2010 and realize that he was a sober victim in a crash involving other kids who had been drinking. Also realize that many teens say even Brott's death in Novato.

It's an undeniable fact: Alcohol use is associated with all leading causes of death for young people. Teen drinking can also have life-long consequences. Research has shown that if a teen starts drinking before the age of 15, they are four times more likely to become dependent on alcohol than those who wait until age 21.

A light dinner will be provided while entertainment is provided by students from the. Childcare is available for parents as well; contact Katie Keating at kkeating@yli.org or 415-493-4322 to register.

Spanish translation will be available at Thursday's meeting. Another town hall meeting in Spanish is scheduled for 6-8 p.m. May 16 at the office. Contact Berta Campos Anicetti at 892-1643 for more information on the Spanish-language event.