The Riverhead Community Awareness Program is continuing its public awareness campaign to discourage this year‘s high school graduating class from celebrating with underage drinking and drug use.
In partnership with local businesses, Peconic Bay Medical Center and the Riverhead Police Department, CAP is placing 2-inch stickers on participating businesses’ items — like deli sandwiches, take out bags and coffee cups — which say: “Congratulations Class of 2023. Live Your Best Life: Celebrate Sober.”
PBMC emergency doctors and Sgt. Dino Isgro of the Riverhead Police Department traveled with CAP to Riverhead High School recently to speak about the legal and health repercussions of underage drinking and drug use.
“Peconic Bay Medical Center is proud of our ongoing partnership with Riverhead CAP, and we believe that educating students about the dangers of underage drinking and substance use is an essential part of keeping our community safe,” Amy Loeb, PBMC’s executive director said in a press release. “Young students are vulnerable to participating in risky behaviors, and we are happy to help them understand the dangers of doing so.”
CAP wants to remind the community that serving alcohol to minors is illegal for businesses. It is also illegal under the Suffolk County Social Host Law for guest hosts to provide alcohol to minors or knowingly allow them to drink. Violators of the law can be charged with a misdemeanor and face penalties that include fines up to $1,000 and/or one year in jail.
“Our society normalizes and celebrates substance use as a rite of passage for young people,” CAP Community Prevention Specialist Cynthia Redmond said. “The Celebrate Sober campaign serves as a reminder that substance use can derail ambition and goals. We encourage students to celebrate their accomplishments and to be aware that healthy decisions can only help them achieve success.”
According to CAP, 5,000 young people under the age of twenty-one die each year from alcohol-related causes, and more than 190,000 people under twenty-one visit an emergency room for alcohol-related injuries. Alcohol is the drug most abused by teens and causes more deaths in young people under twenty-one than all illegal drugs combined, according to CAP. One-third of alcohol-related teen traffic fatalities occur between April and June which is peak prom and graduation season.
Businesses who are interested in participating in the campaign can contact Cynthia Redmond at Cynthia.Redmond@RiverheadCAP.org to order free stickers.
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