Underage Drinking

Continuing an agreement to educate and bring awareness to issues impacting our communities, Northeast Delta Human Services Authority (NEDHSA) and the University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) are addressing underage drinking, focusing on college campuses. To assist in this effort, Zeta chapter of Pi Sigma Epsilon at ULM developed a series of images and data-driven content. This social media series, guided by NEDHSA, will emphasize the negative effects of alcohol on young adults. "Addiction and recovery are cornerstones of our work, and alcohol is a prevalent addictive substance," said Dr. Monteic A. Sizer, executive director of NEDHSA. "We recognize that building sustainable relationships with students and faculty amplifies the message of alcohol’s negative effect. Especially in today’s climate of COVID-19, alcohol consumption can result in negative consequences – one being community spread of COVID-19.” The need for this series resulted from the 2019 Louisiana Core Alcohol and Drug Survey. It measured alcohol and drug usage, and attitudes and perceptions among college students at two and four-year institutions. It found that 76.2 percent of college students consumed alcohol in the past year, 53.2 percent of students under 21 consumed alcohol within 30 days of being surveyed and 28.6 percent of students reported binge drinking in the previous two weeks. "We cannot be blind to the reality of those in our communities,” Sizer said. “Proactively responding to what is occurring in our region is how we build a unified Northeast Louisiana, where individuals are thriving and reaching their full human potential." Northeast Delta and ULM will continue to collaborate in efforts to enhance the Northeast Louisiana community. To see the series of images, visit NEDHSAs or ULMs social media platforms. For more information, contact Scott King at (318) 362-4538 or E-mail [email protected].