The South Bay Communities Creating Change (SBC3) hosted a media kickoff Alcohol Awareness Month April 2 at the Gardena City Council Chambers and was supported by some of the top-ranking officials in the South Bay and southland.
Alcohol Awareness Month has been observed since 1987 to increase public awareness and understanding of alcohol-related issues, event officials said through a press release.
The South Bay Communities Creating Change (SBC3) hosted a media kickoff Alcohol Awareness Month April 2 at the Gardena City Council Chambers and was supported by some of the top-ranking officials in the South Bay and southland.
Alcohol Awareness Month has been observed since 1987 to increase public awareness and understanding of alcohol-related issues, event officials said through a press release.
“Compelling data points to alcohol as the No. 1 drug of choice for America’s young people and is more likely to kill young people than all illegal drugs combined,” SBC3 officials said.
Led by State Assemblyman Mike Gipson, D-64th District, elected officials from the cities of Gardena, Carson, Inglewood, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Breach, Torrance, Lawndale and Long Beach pledged their city’s support with proclamations in observance of Alcohol Awareness Month in April.
There were also special recognition from the offices of Mark Ridley-Thomas, 2nd District Los Angeles County Supervisor; Ricardo Lara, State Senate, 33rd District; Janice Hahn, U.S. Congress, 44th District; Maxine Waters, U.S. Congress, 43rd District; and Ted Lieu, U.S. Congress, 33rd District.
The support of various cities will serve as an act symbolic of the city officials’ commitment to prevent underage drinking through policy-based efforts, according to the press release.
Besides Gipson, the event speakers were Jorge Guandique of AADAP, Wesley Ford of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and Ashley Moran, an 18-year-old senior at Gardena High School.
Moran gave a stirring testimony as a child of an alcoholic parent. Her words crystallized this year’s theme of “Underage drinking Prevention Begins With Me and My Community.”
SBC3 officials said that a priority is addressing the youth group and alcoholism.
“(Our) goal in mind is the securing for our youth a future that is free from the harmful influences of alcohol,” officials said. “
The South Bay Communities Creating Change is a coalition of community-based and non-profit organizations providing services in the filed of substance abuse prevention and treatment within the cities, including Gardena. SB3 is made up of Asian American Drug Abuse Program-Community Prevention, Behavioral Health Services—Prevention (BHS), Behavioral Health Services? MCADD, Cambodian Association of America, CLARE Foundation, AADAP-Indochinese Youth Community Center, and endorsed by the Substance Abuse Prevention and Control, L.A. County Depart. of Public Health.
