If you haven't already heard, we've launched a distinctive underage drinking/underage DUI statewide campaign entitled Pullayouee (PA U-Turn) that focuses on 16-20 year olds.  The gist of the campaign is to empower youth to turn away from existing or impending risk-taking behavior, to resist peer pressure to consume alcohol, and to dispel societal misperceptions such as 'all kids drink.'  Because of the sheer size and intensity of this campaign it is being touted as more of a 'movement' than just a campaign.
 
Marketed  directly at high school and college students under the age of 21, PA U-Turn primarily exists on the internet where this generation of youth get the majority of their news and information.  Aside from having its own website (www.pullayouee.com), PA U-Turn can be found on the most popular internet social networking sites Myspace and Facebook.  And it's getting quite a fan base.  As of this writing, our PA U-Turn Facebook has collected 457 fans (http://www.facebook.com/PaUturn).
 
In its first three months (April 25 to July 1st), pullayouee.com had 930 visits from 188 cities in Pennsylvania.  In addition, there have been visits from other U.S. states, plus Canada, Belgium, Poland, and the United Kingdom  -- bringing the total visits to 1,040! 

We are in the process of establishing Communities Mobilized for Change in Alcohol (CMCA) in the Steelton-Highspire area to confront the issue of underage drinking/underage DUI in the small Dauphin County community.  In deliberating over what action should be taken, CMCA became the logical choice largely because it is based on established research that showed the importance of the social and policy environment in either facilitating or impeding drinking among youth.  Another consideration is that it is recognized as a model program by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
 
CMCA is a community-organizing program designed to reduce adolescents' (13 to 20 years of age) access to alcohol by changing community policies and practices. It also communicates a clear message to the community that underage drinking is inappropriate and unacceptable. It employs a range of social-organizing techniques to address legal, institutional, social, and health issues in order to reduce youth alcohol use by eliminating illegal alcohol sales to youth by retailers and by obstructing the provision of alcohol to youth by adults.
 
This effort begins with an intensive two-day standardized training conducted by the Youth Leadership Institute, a national training organization.  The training serves to bring together all of the necessary stakeholders under one roof to share concerns while learning how to mobilize themselves and the community in order to streamline efforts to produce effective results.  For more details about CMCA visit http://www.modelprograms.samhsa.gov/pdfs/model/Cmca.pdf
 
The PA DUI Association is also partnering with the Steelton/Highspire Project, a local coalition spearheaded by the Dauphin County Human Services Office and the Dauphin County Commissioners.  The project is considering the community's needs at large, with a specific focus on truancy at Steelton-Highspire High School.  
 
The CMCA training is scheduled for November 3-4th at the offices of Mazitti & Sullivan in Steelton. An email will be sent within a few weeks announcing all of the details.
 
(This program is made possible by a grant from the Dauphin County Department of Drug & Alcohol Services, PA Department of Health, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)