Central NH stops harm from underage drinking central NH stops harm will address our community's top health concerns: mental health and substance misuse among youth

Our project will prevent and reduce alcohol use among 12- to 20-year-olds through community-level change strategies by creating innovative ways to limit access to alcohol, change the culture and context within which decisions about substance use are made, and shift the consequences associated with youth substance use. Cady, INC., a vibrant community prevention coalition, serves the rural central region of new hampshire (NH) comprised of 18 towns with a total population of about 33,544 and home to plymouth state university (PSU). Youth risk behavior survey (YRBS) data tell US that central NH youth are using substances earlier and at higher rates than the rest of NH. More than a third of our youth ages 12 to 20 use alcohol and are exposed to its risks and harms. When IT comes to 30-day use of alcohol, central NH high school students rank 16.5% higher than the state average, and 35% higher than the state average for binge drinking (samhsa, 2023). Binge drinking by central NH youth and college students is a serious public health concern in our region and statewide. Emerging research drives growing concern about a new measure of alcohol use: high-intensity drinking, at levels two or more times binge levels. High intensity drinking has much more dangerous and severe short- and long-term consequences than other patterns and is especially common in college settings. In recent years, as the opioid problem has reached crisis levels in NH, resources and attention have focused on opioids. Critical though this problem is to the health and welfare of our community, alcohol remains the most prevalent substance concern that affects the largest number of our youth and families. Through this collaborative initiative, we will address community norms regarding youth alcohol use, reduce opportunities for underage drinking by limiting access and creating changes in enforcement efforts, reduce the prevalence of negative consequences associated with underage drinking, and build capacity to support disparate populations. The goals of our project are (1) reduce opportunities for underage drinking and binge drinking by creating changes in underage and binge drinking perceptions and enforcement efforts; (2) increase risk-protective community norms through social marketing and positive social norming; (3) reduce percentage of youth under age 13 who drink alcohol through empowerment strategies that build resilience and perceptions; and (4) build capacity and infrastructure to support disparate populations, including veterans, rural youth, lgbtqia+ youth and young adults. Our measurable objectives are to reduce youth alcohol use, decrease their access to alcohol and opportunities for binge and high-intensity drinking, and build youth's perceptions that drinking, and binge drinking is harmful and unacceptable, as measured by youth risk behavior survey data. Central NH stops harm will serve as many as 10,000 youth and young adults over the entire project period, with an emphasis on building capacity to increase outreach efforts tailored to meet the unique needs of disparate populations.