The Healthy Bainbridge Alliance—a Bainbridge Youth Services project led by teens in collaboration with parents, community members and organizations—has launched the Parent Pledge to Reduce Underage Drinking in Bainbridge Island.

The alliance is focused on addressing youth alcohol and drug use, including vaping, and developing creative solutions to combat it.

After a survey of island youth in February revealed that teens consistently reported getting alcohol from friends, at parties, and from parents, the alliance is focused on raising awareness about underage drinking facilitated by parents in the community.

BYS executive director Courtney Oliver said in a 2021 survey the percentage of local 12th-graders who had a drink in the previous 30 days was 75% higher than the state average, and since 2002, self-reported underage drinking on BI has been 35% higher than the rest of the state.

The Parent Pledge cites studies that have debunked the belief that teens can learn how to handle alcohol when they drink under adult supervision, and that there is a link between underage drinking and alcohol addiction later in life.

The alliance student leaders need help to combat the problem and are encouraging parents to sign the pledge. They are calling on adults to be positive role models to stop underage drinking and reminding them that their example of drinking affects teens. They are asking adults to keep alcohol away from minors and never allow children to drink in their homes.

BYS also has created an educational campaign, including articles written by BYS Youth Advisory Board members and a special youth podcast, to discuss underage drinking and how youth, parents and the community can reduce high-risk behaviors to build a healthier community.

Hyla High School student Gabriella Matriotti said that the amount of what’s going on in a student’s life can be overwhelming, and she wrote an article about strategies teens can use to cope with stress instead of turning to drugs and alcohol. She suggests that teens learn the power of deep breathing, the practice of daily journaling and encourages teens to talk to people they trust about what they are going through. “If we don’t arm teens with effective strategies to cope with stress, they will continue to turn to drugs and alcohol.”

Sign the Parent Pledge to Reduce Underage Drinking at www.change.org/p/healthy-bainbridge-alliance-parent-pledge?signed=true.