STOP Act Grant

Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking (STOP)

Click here for information on the Underage Drinking Prevention Task Force, sponsored by the STOP Act.

Goals:

  1. Strengthen collaboration and intergovernmental cooperation among the communities of Zion, Winthrop Harbor and Beach Park to implement strategies for the prevention and reduction of underage drinking.
  2. Enhance community participation and information regarding youth alcohol use that demonstrates a long term commitment to reducing alcohol use among youth.

Here are the 4 strategies:

  1. Augment alcohol compliance checks to assure a consistent and unified format.
  • Establish protocol for all communities to follow: create a procedure, identify how many times per year; establish a reporting format, publicity requirements, and youth training.
  • STOP Act will pay each municipality to do compliance checks 3x each year.
  • CHC will keep track of the data and look for trend lines and evaluate process.
  1. Mandate server/seller training in Zion, Winthrop Harbor, and Beach Park.
  • CHC will work with municipalities to create uniform ordinances that require training for all sellers and servers of alcohol products.
  • Ordinances will specify how soon after a hire does an individual need to go through training and require re-training every? # of years (i.e.: every 5 years individuals must be trained.)
  1. Identify social source of alcohol for youth and implement interventions to reduce use.
  • Conduct numerous focus groups at different locations to obtain reliable information on sources of alcohol for youth.
  • Review and organize data.
  • Share data with key community stakeholders.
  • Strategize with key stakeholders and youth on action steps to reduce access to social sources.
  • Take action steps with CHC and youth to reduce access to social sources.
  • Evaluate effectiveness of those action steps and make changes as necessary.
  1. Educate and engage the tri-community members on local laws and statistics regarding alcohol
  • Support the existing activities of the Underage Drinking Prevention Task Force.
  • Educate the parents Z-BTHS on Social Norms Marketing Campaign.
  • Research existing laws and ordinances regarding tobacco and alcohol use and evaluate how to strengthen ordinances to reduce access and availability
  • Work closely with the Tri-community law enforcement and alcohol servers and sellers as well as the Liquor Control Commissioners and city/village clerks in each community.
  • Create a resource guide outlining local laws, ordinances, and data on underage drinking prevention.
  • Resource guides will be distributed to all 8th and 10th grade parents via Z-BTHS.
  • Healthy YOUth students will develop a local media campaign advertising the Resource Guide through school newsletters, billboards, faith-based organizations, and the library.