Supporting Healthy Youth and Healthy Families: Celebrating Safely
As fall begins and homecoming approaches, SAPCA encourages parents and teens to celebrate safely and substance-free and to know the legal consequences related to underage drinking.
Parents and Caregivers: It is against the law to provide alcohol to any persons under the age of 21. Don't be a party to teenage drinking.
Upon conviction, legal penalties for adults that provide alcohol to persons under 21 include:
- A $2,500 fine per young person provided any alcoholic beverage, and
- Loss of the adult’s driver’s license for up to one year and/or one year in jail.
Teens: It is against the law for anyone under the age of 21 to buy, consume, or possess any alcohol beverage.
Upon conviction, penalties include:
- Mandatory minimum fine of $500 (up to $2,500) or a minimum of 50 hours of community service
- Loss of driver’s license for 6 to 12 months
- Up to 12 months in jail
- Possible expulsion from school if caught on school property and/or possible loss of participation in all after school activities
- The additional penalty for driving after illegally consuming alcohol is mandatory loss of a driver’s license for one year or a delay in obtaining a first license.
- For use of a fake ID to purchase an alcoholic beverage, the additional penalty is loss of a driver’s license for up to one year.
|
|
In addition to legal trouble, youth alcohol use can also impact healthy development, harm relationships, and impede future goals.
Did you know that the brain is not fully developed until age 25? Drinking alcohol during the teen years can harm the growing brain and increase the risk of developing an alcohol use disorder later in life.
Even small amounts of alcohol impact judgment, coordination, and the decision-making process.
Alcohol lowers your inhibitions, which can result in saying something out of character or making choices you may not normally make -- such as getting in a car with someone that has been drinking alcohol and plans to drive.
Keeping Our Community Safe
Support our youth to be happy, healthy, and substance-free by making your values clear about substance use -- particularly underage use of substances -- with your children and other parents. Talk about the health, legal, and social consequences of using substances like alcohol, marijuana, and e-cigarettes and pledge to keep celebrations for youth substance-free.
Click here to learn more tips for preventing youth substance use and misuse in our community.
|
|
Celebrate Red Ribbon Week This October!
Each year, communities around the country celebrate Red Ribbon Week from October 23-31, an alcohol, tobacco, and other drug prevention awareness campaign. Red Ribbon Week is an ideal way for people and communities to unite and take a visible stand against drugs. This year's theme is: “Drug Free Looks Like Me.” Explore these ideas to celebrate Red Ribbon Week this year:
-
Enter the Red Ribbon Week Poster Contest by November 15, 2021. Three winners will receive a $100 gift card and have their poster featured in Red Ribbon Week 2022!
-
Take the Red Ribbon Week Pledge to stand up against substance use. Take the pledge today -- and encourage friends and family to do the same -- to continue to help make our community drug-free.
- Join us as the City Council recognizes Red Ribbon Week through a City proclamation on October 12 at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
- Join SAPCA in celebrating and recognizing the winners of last year's poster contest:
- Elementary School Winner: Zeynab Talibova, 5th grade, from Ferdinand T. Day Elementary School
- Middle School Winner: Bushra Sidiqui, 6th grade, Francis C. Hammond Middle School
- High School Winner: Caitlin Feehely, 10th grade, Alexandria City High School
-
Stay informed -- learn the latest facts about alcohol, marijuana, e-cigarettes, and prescription and over-the-counter medication.
Click here to explore more ways to celebrate Red Ribbon Week this month!
|
|
City Hosts National Prescription Drug Take Back Day October 23
Save the date for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday October 23! This event is a great opportunity to safely dispose of unneeded prescription and over-the-counter medications. Medication can be dropped off from 10 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at the following sites:
- First Baptist Church (2932 King St.)
- Alexandria Police Department Headquarters (3600 Wheeler Ave.)
- Fire Station 210 (5255 Eisenhower Ave.)
- The Neighborhood Pharmacy of Del Ray (2204 Mt. Vernon Ave.)
The City of Alexandria and the Alexandria Health Department urge Alexandria residents, businesses and visitors to “Wear It Well” by wearing a mask in public indoor spaces, whether vaccinated or not, at all collection sites. This follows updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that everyone should wear masks in indoor public settings in communities of substantial or high transmission.
- The Neighborhood Pharmacy of Del Ray (2204 Mt. Vernon Ave.), available Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
- Inova Alexandria Hospital (4320 Seminary Road, inside the visitor’s entrance and next to the cashier’s window), available daily, 1-5 p.m.
- Alexandria Police Department (3600 Wheeler Ave., inside the front entrance, ring bell for access); available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Needles are not accepted during the take back event or in the permanent medication drop boxes. Dispose of needles and syringes at a separate permanent drop box specifically for these items located inside the visitor's entrance at Inova Alexandria Hospital. The box is accessible at the same location and hours as the hospital’s drop off box for medications.
We hope you'll make time this month to clean out your medicine cabinets and safely dispose of medication in our community!
|
|
|
|
October is National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month
National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month (NMAAM) is an annual campaign, observed throughout the month of October, to raise awareness of the dangers of prescription and over-the-counter medicine abuse.
Join SAPCA in raising awareness about NMAAM by exploring ways you can help prevent medicine abuse.
|
|
Store Medication Safely
The City of Alexandria offers free locking medication boxes to support residents to store medication safely at home. To obtain a locking medication box, visit the Department of Community and Human Services or Alexandria Health Department (4480 King St., 2nd Fl. & 5th Fl. or 2525 Mt. Vernon Ave.)
Recognize Medication Abuse
Medication abuse occurs when someone continues to misuse any mind-altering substance that severely affects physical and mental health, social situations, and responsibilities. The three primary ways medication can be misused are by:
- Taking medication that was prescribed to someone else,
- Taking your own prescription in a way not intended by a doctor, or
- Taking a medication with the intention of getting high.
Know The Risk of Medication Abuse
Start the Conversation
Learn tips on how to talk about medicine abuse and share what you have learned with teens, parents, and community leaders. To learn more about preventing medication abuse, click here.
|
|
Upcoming Events & Resources |
|
Free Virtual Classes for Students Grades 5-9
This fall, Formed Families Forward is offering two FREE virtual classes for youth in grades 5-9. Participants who attend these classes regularly can earn gift cards!
-
5th and 6th graders are invited to learn the real facts about e-cigarettes and vaping with the CATCH My Breath program. Students will participate in great activities to build awareness and practice resistance. The course is 4 weekly sessions, 5:45 - 6:30 PM on Thursdays, starting October 13. Click here to register.
-
7th, 8th and 9th graders can join peers for the Healthy Relationships Plus Program, which uses open dialogue and role playing to engage students in enthusiastic discussions about peer pressure, help-seeking, media literacy, healthy and unhealthy peer and dating relationships, and healthy communication. The Healthy Relationships Plus Program is 7 weekly sessions on Wednesdays, 5:15 - 7:15 PM starting October 7. Click here to register.
Click here to learn more about Formed Families Forward.
|
|
Applications Open for Youth Philanthropy Council
Are you a high school student who wants to make an impact in your community? Apply to serve on the Youth Philanthropy Council! Designed by youth for youth, this program's purpose is to provide Alexandria youth the decision-making power and funding to address key youth issues within the community.
Members of the Youth Council will have the opportunity to design and launch grant programs promoting youth initiatives, build skills in community-organizing and advocacy, network with Alexandria leaders, and make a difference in their community! Due to the effort and time commitment required for this program, members will receive a personal stipend to compensate them for their work.
Eligibility Requirements
In order to apply for the Youth Council, students must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- Must be a High School students in grades 9-11
- Must either attend school or live in Alexandria
- Willing to commit to a minimum of one academic year as a Council member
- Must have an interest in improving your community.
|
|
Enter the Point-of-Sale Tobacco Marketing Photo Contest
Each year, CounterTobacco hosts a Photo Contest to showcase what's happening in the tobacco retail environment all across the country. These images are crucial to educating the public and furthering the success of state and local tobacco control efforts that seek to reduce tobacco industry activity at the point of sale.
|
|
Get Free, Confidential Mental Health Screening
The Department of Community and Human Services offers an online screening tool for mental health and substance use disorders. This free screening is made available to the general public and is taken anonymously. The screening is provided so that you may find out -- in a few minutes -- whether or not professional consultation would be helpful to you.
Click here to access this free, confidential tool.
|
|
Wear It Well - Do Your Part. Stop The Spread.
The City of Alexandria and the Alexandria Health Department urge Alexandria residents, businesses and visitors to “Wear It Well” by wearing a mask in public indoor spaces, whether vaccinated or not. This follows updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that everyone should wear masks in indoor public settings in communities of substantial or high transmission.
Wearing a mask protects yourself, your family and your community from the current surge of the more contagious COVID-19 delta variant. In addition to wearing a mask in indoor public places, “Wear It Well” by ensuring the mask fits snugly over the nose and chin without gaps. Masks with multiple layers of fabric provide greater protection against transmission.
Every Alexandrian can take precautions to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. Learn more about how to protect yourself and those around you at alexandriava.gov/coronavirus
|
|
Emma Beall, MPH
SAPCA Coordinator
O: 703.746.3670
C: 571.302.1022
|
|
Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition of Alexandria
123 N Pitt St, Suite 225
Alexandria, VA 22314
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
