Parents urged to take pledge against underage drinking

Sonoma Valley has the highest rate of teenage drinking in the County, and there’s one place that kids are scoring alcohol that the Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking wants to shut down. A joint where a third of teens get their booze. It’s the primary source for the youngest drinkers.
That place? Your house.
The parental idea of letting kids drink at home parties, where they are “safe,” is wrong, the coalition’s community forum was told Tuesday night.
“Parents have a disconnect between what they think is going on, and what is really going on,” said Police Chief Bret Sackett. The supervision that parents think they are providing, for example, is far from reality: while 29 percent of parents say they are a visible presence at a party, 61 percent of the teens say they never see an adult.
“Permission to drink there is permission to drink anywhere,” said Dr. Rebecca Bailey. “Kids who drink or smoke at home do it in other places, as well.”
The Sonoma Valley Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking is a group of youth-oriented nonprofit groups that have come together under the auspices of Social Advocates for Youth. SAY’s Danielle Ronshausen said the Parent/Community Pledge is one way to create a community-wide change in parents’ thinking about teen drinking. The practical goal is to reduce the likelihood of teens having access to alcohol in Sonoma Valley homes. The four-point pledge calls for all teen parties to be alcohol-free and actively hosted by an adult.
Another tool is the Social Host Ordinance. While adults in proximity to underage drinking can now be cited for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Sackett said the case is so hard to prove that it is rarely pursued. The Social Host Ordinance would change that. Adopted in Marin County and elsewhere, the measure makes resident adults responsible for any on-site drinking by minors. The language of the law makes it easier to prove than current options, and it would come with the bite of hefty fines.
“It’s not a magic pill to solve the problem, but it gives us tools,” Sackett said.
The teenage brain is ill-equipped to deal with the physiological effects of alcohol. Up to age 24, Bailey explained, the brain is still developing coping and judgment skills, and the ability to control impulses and emotions – just the behaviors needed to avoid bad situations. Christine Castillo of United Against Sexual Assault said that 90 percent of all sexual assaults involve alcohol or drugs.
Ronshausen was appreciative of the turn-out for the forum, Sonoma’s first. She also commended presenter Alicia Armstrong-Sanchez, a Sonoma Valley high school student and youth member of the Coalition, who she said was harassed by her classmates for her Senior Project showing the dangers of underage drinking. Armstrong-Sanchez presented some of her research Tuesday night.

To get involved with the coalition contact Danielle Ronshausen at 707.966.7991.