Armed with the message "Parents Who Host Lose the Most," local stores are helping the Berrien County Health Department tackle underage drinking through their launch of "Project Sticker Shock." Among the partners in the project are Martin's Supermarkets in both St. Joseph and Stevensville, and Kartar Citgo in Bridgman.
Teaming up with youth volunteers, adult chaperones, and the local health department, the combined community awareness campaign is designed to raise awareness of the dangers of underage drinking, side-by-side with efforts to educate adults who might purchase alcohol and illegally provide it to minors. During Project Sticker Shock, youth volunteers and adult chaperones partner with local alcohol retailers by placing brightly colored stickers on multi-packs of beer & wine coolers to deter adults from buying alcohol for minors.
Posters are placed in stores to help increase awareness and demonstrate each business’s commitment to keeping alcohol out of the hands of minors.
The project unites youth, business owners, parents and law enforcement in a partnership striving for a common goal: to reduce underage drinking. Lisa Peeples-Hurst, Certified Prevention Specialist with the Berrien County Health Department says, “according to the 2013 Michigan Youth Risk Behavior Survey, almost 50-percent of 11th graders who drank in the last 30 days reported that the alcohol was given to them by older friends, relatives and parents. This is why it is so important for us to team up with community members to spread the message that ‘Parents Who Host Lose the Most’.”
Parents who supply alcohol to minors or host underage drinking parties in their homes can face legal consequences. Under Michigan law, adults charged with violations of supplying alcoholic beverages to minors can face imprisonment, financial penalties, and other negligence liability issues, especially if any harm were to come to the inebriated youth.
In order to raise awareness about this important topic, the Berrien County Health Department, along with many community agencies and community residents, have placed yard signs around Berrien County bearing the slogan “Parents Who Host Lose the Most” to act as a consistent reminder for adults to refrain from providing alcohol to minors particularly during this season of prom, graduations, and other summer parties.
