HomeMy WebLinkAboutProclamation - National Alcohol Awareness Monthservice
Mayor Robert Spiegel
Palm Desert
3/30/04
Request for Mayor Robert Spiegel to proclaim April as Alcohol Awareness Month
April is National Alcohol Awareness Month. Alcohol is the drug most frequently used by high school seniors,
and its use is increasing. Boys usually try alcohol for the first time at just 11 years old, while the average age for
American girls' first drink is 13. Underage drinking is a factor in nearly half of all teen car crashes and
contributes to youth suicides, homicides and fatal injuries. Additionally, alcohol abuse is linked to as many as
two-thirds of all sexual assaults and date rapes of teens and college students and is a major factor in unprotected
sex among youth, increasing their risk of contracting HIV or other transmitted diseases.
Underage drinking is a critical public health issue in America and represents just the tip of the iceberg. Alcohol
is a drug that can affect judgment, coordination and long-term health. In fact, research suggests that early use of
alcohol by teenagers may contribute significantly to dependence on alcohol and other drugs later in life, with
40% of children who begin using alcohol before the age of 13 becoming alcoholics at some point in their lives.
Alcohol Awareness Month, sponsored by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc.
(NCADD) since 1987, encourages local communities to "Save a Life — End Underage Drinking."
What began in 1962 as an attempt to stay sober by two of its' founders, the ABC Club was a place to stay and
recover for a mere few dollars and anonymity. After forty years the ABC Recovery Center has turned into a
major resource in the Coachella Valley for the treatment of alcohol and drug abuse. What was once a single
home has now turned into a comprehensive treatment facility on eleven acres of land whose mission is to
provide an environment for alcoholics and drug addicts to achieve long -life sobriety and to reenter the
community as healthy and responsible individuals.
ABC Recovery is requesting that the City of Palm Desert join in the national campaign to educate the public as
to the dangers of alcohol abuse during National Alcohol Awareness Month, the month of April.
Sincerely,
Helen Leahy
ABC Recovery Center, INC.
44-374 Palm Street
Indio, CA 92201
(760) 342-6616