Teens want their peers to stay safe

We are concerned with the health and safety of our peers because:

• Teens who start drinking before age 15 are five times more likely to develop alcohol dependence or abuse later in life than those who begin drinking at or after the age of 21, according to dosomething.org, a not-for-profit group for young people and social change.
• In 2010, there were approximately 189,000 emergency room visits by teens under age 21 with injuries and other conditions linked to alcohol.
• Teens that drink heavily are three times more likely to try and hurt themselves (self-harm, attempt suicide, etc.) than those who don't.
• In 2010, 10 percent of high school sophomores in Grant County reported they drove after they had been drinking, according to the state's Healthy Youth Survey conducted by the Department of Health.
• In 2010, 25 percent of eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders in Grant County reported riding in a car with a driver who had been drinking.

We encourage our peers to make healthy choices! To make a difference join the Youth Action Team and Moses Lake Community Prevention Coalition.

Because we care,

Leigh Allison-Ray,

On behalf of theMoses Lake Youth Action Team