YOUTH SUMMIT ILLUSTRATES SUCCESS OF COUNTY OUTREACH

TROY - When it comes to anti-alcohol and anti-drug initiatives that
target youth, Rensselaer County is in the forefront, said John
Underwood, director of the American Athletics Institute in Lake
Placid. Underwood and former NFL football star Dennis O'Sullivan were
guest speakers Wednesday at Hudson Valley Community College for the
fifth annual Youth Summit. Students from 11 county high schools came
together to exchange ideas and demonstrate ways to curb and prevent
underage drinking.

County officials five years ago championed a multi-strategy approach
to the growing problem of drinking and driving by youths when
statistics revealed there were more incidents of underage DWI here
than in any other county in the state, said Rensselaer County
Executive Kathleen M. Jimino.

The youth summit was created as a result of a county-wide coalition
that addressed the matter, she said. "Parents, teachers, members of
law enforcement, judges and others came together to find ways to
engage youth in the process," Jimino said.

Several years later, prevention programs in Rensselaer County are
considered a model by other counties and garner support funding from
federal and state governments.

"We're in our fourth year of a five-year federal grant from the
Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, which gives us
$100,000 a year. And we receive $9,000 a year from the state Office of
Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services for law enforcement compliance
that provides merchant training to all businesses licensed by the
state liquor authority," said county Community Prevention Coordinator
Margaret Brennan.

The earlier students are groomed to lead alcohol and drug-free lives
the better, Underwood said. Underwood and O'Sullivan travel across the
U.S. urging high school and college students to exercise their
"response-ability" and say no to drugs and alcohol.

"Our goal as adults is to raise kids' awareness and vigilance during
this time of the year especially when proms and graduation are
planned," Underwood said.

Kyle Monahan, 16, and 17-year-old Stephen Struss from Tamarac High
gave a power point presentation on the hazards of underage drinking.
Other students conveyed similar messages through song, dance, film and
narratives. Troy High student Derrick Conyers produced a video that he
played at the conference.

"I'd like to try to make a difference ... I don't drink at all. I
don't feel I need it in order to fit in socially," Monahan said.

Music, writing and talking things out are ways he and Struss express
creative and emotional energy, he said. "I've been coming to the
summit for four years and my mom was involved with the coalition
before I was in high school," Monahan said.

Programs such as the youth summit engender leadership roles among
students that will serve them throughout their lifetime, Underwood
said.

"The biggest message we're trying to get across is that it's important
to establish a collective response, frankly, because a personal
response carries some risks ... Youth today have a propensity for a
huge amount of risk-taking," he said.

Students are hand-picked by teachers to be part of the summit and
charged with finding creative ways to pass on anti-alcohol and
anti-drug messages to their peers, Jimino said.

"I think what I enjoyed most about today's summit were the
presentations some of the students made to younger kids and the neat
ways they showed how much they care for their fellow students," she
said.

Before county leaders launched the youth summit and related programs
they examined successful models that were in place across the country
and took the best from those, said Brennan.

"We didn't want to re-invent the wheel. We started with Parents Who
Host Lose the Most, a program from Ohio that educates parents and
makes them realize that anytime they serve underage kids alcohol
they're breaking the law," she said.

Months later Rensselaer County led the formation of a 12-county
coalition that partners with area businesses and media outlets to get
the word out about prevention, Brennan said.