The city of Revere, Mass., has witnessed significant shifts in community attitudes regarding minors and drug abuse over the last decade, and some credit the Revere CARES (Community Awareness, Resources, and Education to Prevent Substance Abuse) program for reducing alcohol and other drug use among adolescents, the Boston Globe reported Dec. 22.

The program, funded by $4.4 million from Massachusetts General Hospital, Partners HealthCare and other health organizations, has worked with community members and city officials to raise awareness, promote dialogue, lobby to pass smoking bans, and challenge the issuance of liquor licenses for grocery stores.

"It's a different attitude that pervades in the city about substance abuse, and much of it is due to the attention that Revere CARES has brought to these issues," said Revere Mayor Thomas Ambrosino.

As a result of one of Revere CARES' initiatives called "Power to Know," more than 1,000 parents of adolescents pledged to have open conversations with their children regarding alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, as well as getting to know their children's friends and parents.

Research suggests improvements in middle-school students' behavior during the five years that this program has been in place. For example, alcohol use among Revere middle-school students declined from 59 percent to 42 percent between 1997 -- when Revere CARES was launched -- and 2007. Tobacco use declined from 54 percent to 28 percent during the same period.

Binge drinking among Revere high-school seniors declined 7 percent between 2001 and 2007, compared to a statewide average of 3 percent.

"What's impressive is that these are across-the-board improvements" in Revere, said Michael Botticelli, director of the state Department of Public Health's substance-abuse services division. Revere CARES' success is a model for the state, he said.