Understanding Community:
Young people are our most valuable resource. They are our present, as well as, our future. It is the goal of every parent to raise a healthy son/daughter and the goal of every community to raise happy, successful individuals. Unfortunately, too many young people are destroying their minds and bodies with alcohol use. Communities can come together around this public health issue by hosting town hall meetings.
A town hall meeting is a public forum designed to discuss issues related to community life. A town hall meeting, that is well planned, is an extremely effective mechanism for gathering people's concerns and together providing their best solutions. The purpose of this Community Action Guide is to raise public awareness about the issue of underage drinking, mobilize existing community coalitions, and organize new community coalitions around the issue of underage drinking.
A community is a place where people come together for a common reason - they work there, they learn and play there, they live there, or they worship there. It can be defined by geographical boundaries or institutional ones. However, it is more than a region to be served; it is a climate to be created. (Based on a definition in Teen Power, National Crime Prevention Council, 1991).
This Community Action Guide will help community members to focus on the climate we, as a community, create for our children and assume greater responsibility for positive youth development. Click on the below headings to learn more!
- Conducting a Town Hall Meeting
- Implementing Small Wins
- Collaborate with Multiple Sectors to Assess the Community
- Maintaining the Momentum and Resources
- Underage Drinking Toolkit PowerPoint
- PowerPoint Handouts