5,000 kids under 16 take their first drink daily

That's a crazy stat! My friend Kathy Roth brought me some info on a cool program happening at Saline High School March 5 at 7:00pm. Saline has been chosen to host "Take It Back" a community briefing sponsored by a national initiative organizing 350 youth groups from 49 states to simultaneously hold the youth-led meeting. Cool.

The movement is driven by facts like these:
1. Each day, more than 5,400 kids in the US under the age of 16 take their first drink.
2. Each year, more than 97,000 students between the ages of 18 to 24 are victimes of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape.
3. IN the US alone, alcohol kills more kids than all illegal drugs combined.

Take it Back says, "Sometimes adults think it's okay to buy alcohol for underage youth as long as they take the car keys. But taking hte car keys won't stop them from having unplanned or unprotected sex, drinking until they pass out or getting into a fight. If you want to keep kids safe, stop kidding yourself - and stop providing."

Plan to attend the Take it Bak Community Briefing, hosted by SADD at Saline High School, 7 - 8:30pm, March 5. At the Briefing, we will focus on these issues found during research in our community:
1. An increase in Minor in Possession Charges
2. Increase in school issues related to alcohol
3. Availability in our community.

WAKE UP!