A 12-agency coalition, the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD), along with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA), is calling for state and community town-hall meetings to discuss the problem of underage drinking.

As part of a comprehensive federal community drug-prevention strategy, SAMHSA will provide $1,000 to $1,500 stipends to community coalitions that organize meetings. Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) has made its "Strategizer 49: Community Briefings: A Prevention Tool for Communities" publication available to help coordinate these meetings.

"If they’re already working on underage drinking in their community, coalitions will get a lot of mileage from the town-hall meetings if they build on the work they’re already doing and integrate these meetings into their ongoing plan," said Jane Callahan, director of CADCA’s National Coalition Institute. Alternately, she said, "It can serve as a first step in increasing their underage-drinking prevention efforts."

Participants are expected to hold their first town-hall meeting by March 28, and include representatives from the entire community. All Drug-Free Communities Support Program (DFC) grantees will be eligible for the stipend, as will select organizations that attended the National Meeting of the States on the Prevention of Underage Alcohol Use, held in the fall of 2005.

For more information, visit CADCA online.