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Article from LSJ.com.

Coalition aims to 'change the norm' combating drugs, underage drinking

Published October 5, 2007

Ryan Loew
Lansing State Journal

About two years ago, Sheila Taylor received a call from some high school students with whom she worked through the Michigan Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking.

"They said, 'Mrs. Taylor, is it all right that our teachers go to a bar and drink every Friday after school?'" said Taylor, who is executive director of Lansing-based Prevention Network, which provides statewide support to community groups.

It was a good question that touched on what those teenagers perceived as a society dominated by drinking, she said.

"Local communities can change that norm," she said. "The change happens locally."

A county-wide substance abuse coalition hopes a $500,000 grant will help do just that.

The Ingham County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, which has partners in schools, police departments, cities and health services throughout the county, is receiving the grant from the U.S. Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The purpose: to combat underage drinking and other drug use in Ingham County.

The grant is one of 112 Drug Free Communities available nationwide. It will be dispersed $100,000 per year for the next five years.

Rod MacDonald, outgoing chair of the coalition, said the group will use the money to help Ingham County communities identify substance abuse problems and develop prevention strategies.

That could include helping develop parenting networks and community centers.

"This money gives us the ability to lend the expertise and technical data that we've collected over the last two years to give them a snapshot of their community and let them know what problems they can make a change in," MacDonald said.

"When those communities are ready, then we can help them with this data."

Marie Hansen, coalition chair-elect, said she hopes to hire a community organizer who will meet with community members in coming months.

Ingham County Commissioner Debbie De Leon said that at the county level, 74 percent of 12th graders report having had a least one drink of alcohol, and on average, these students report having had that first drink at about age 13.

Those numbers, Hansen said, come from research conducted in 2006 by the 10-coanty Mid-South Substance Abuse Commission of 90 percent of the school districts in Ingham County.

"It's been an ongoing problem," De Leon said. "The less young people to be able to make good choices, the more positive options you have for you're going to see this kind of problem."

Hansen said that because Ingham County has diverse urban and rural communities, the ability to approach them individually is crucial.

"That's where real change happens," she said.

Contact Ryan Loew at 377-1206 or rloew@lsj.com.