TOWNSHEND — During the first weeks of December, West River Valley Thrives staff and members of Leland & Gray's Above the Influence (ATI) youth group donned masks and loaded up with hand sanitizer to do a modified version of its bi-annual Sticker Shock campaign.
According to a news release, ATI youth “work to inspire people to make healthy choices through fun, engaging, and educational activities, with an emphasis on substance use prevention. Twice a year, these students organize a Sticker Shock campaign. This activity is designed to deter adults from purchasing alcohol for minors.”
Partnering with local businesses, ATI students go into stores and place stickers that contain information about the penalties and negative effects associated with distributing alcohol to minors - like the fact that providing for minors could result in up to $2,000 in fines and a two-year prison sentence.
ATI said that what “is normally a large social activity became a small personal one. A team of one adult and one student met at the retailer closest to that student's home, in an effort to reduce transportation barriers. While COVID-19 restrictions limited turnout, participating youth commented on how nice it was to 'have something to do.'”
Students shared with store management some data on underage drinking from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, conducted by the Health Department and the Agency of Education. One finding: 70 percent of Windham County high schoolers believe that it would be easy for them to get alcohol.
Participating stores included River Bend Farm Market (Townshend), Harmonyville Store, Newfane Market, and D & K's Jamaica Grocery.