UPLIFT Community Briefing
Kansas City, MO; March 6, 2008

The program was held in Kansas City's midtown cultural center at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church on the evening of March 6, 2008. Six members of UPLIFT - from five different schools across the metro area - shared the spotlight for an individualized segment of the Briefing. Then, with assistance from SAMHSA, the group conducted the second segment of the program, a Town Hall Meeting. Guests in the audience included civic leader and former mayor pro-tem Alvin Brooks, members of the Kansas City Police Department's DUI Division, area youth groups/sponsors, high school prevention club, the Heart of America Indian Center, the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, COMBAT and the National Guard Counter Drug Task Force team.

The program, entitled "eXtreme teen drinking", focused on underage binge drinking and the destructive decisions that result. Segments of the presentation included "What It's Like to be a Kansas City Teen", "What is Binge Drinking?", "The Effects of Binge Drinking on the Brain", "Learning and Academics", "Tolerance and Addiction" and "Other Destructive Decisions that Result".

Both segments were extremely well received. The Students conducted a polished and informative presentation, and out Town Hall moderator, NCADD vice president, Ron Griffin, engaged the UPLIFT teen panel and guests - both adults and youth - in a spirited discussion about the issues and potential solutions.

Mr Brooks called on adults in the community to lead by example, ensuring that all are mindful of the message kids get when adults around them use stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine to cope.

Furthermore, energy drinks that are loaded with caffeine and alcopops, which are sweet, fruity "kid-flavored" malt beverages or coolers are marketed everywhere and were discussed during the Briefing. Awareness in the community about these drinks is important in the fight to delay first use and prevent frequent use of alcohol among youth.

Youth on the panel suggested an effort to educate parents about the dangers - and legal consequences - of hosting underage drinking parties. They noted that parents often falsely justify hosting, and sometimes providing alcohol, to allow a safe haven to minors who they believe will find ways to drink anyway. The youth voiced a strong belief that the underage drinking could be significantly reduced if such "safe" places to drink, and the means to obtain alcohol from family and friends, did not exist.

UPLIFT handed out programs, nametags, guest book signage and 4-question pre/post forms were offered. The team asked for support in their efforts to combat underage binge drinking by offering copies of the Call to Action guides specific to communities, educators and parents at the close of their "eXtreme teen drinking" event and asked audience members to get involved. They also offered 20-question youth surveys about binge drinking behaviors to their peers and youth sponsors in the audience in hopes of gathering more assessment data about the problem as it exists specifically in the Kansas City metro area.

The youth learned about the many facets of planning for a significant community event. They also learned about the rewards of hard work, practice and valid data citing as it affected a very well presented Briefing and garnered excellent youth panel (UPLIFT) comments and responses during the Town Hall segment.