Data driven community change: Youth and adults working together to assess, mobilize, and change their communities to reduce alcohol availability and underage drinking

The Youth Leadership Institute (YLI) builds communities where young people and their adult allies come together to create positive social change. The proposed presentation will focus on YLI's work with young people in Fresno County, California, to engage in community assessment and use data to mobilize community stakeholders and decision makers and choose environmental prevention strategies to control alcohol availability and reduce underage drinking.

Youth and adults worked together to assess the unique urban and rural settings within the county through a variety of methods, including: community mapping; door to door merchant and restaurant surveys; widespread youth surveys to assess how young people access alcohol; and community norm and public opinion surveys. The youth researchers and their adult allies presented their findings to county and city government, schools, community organizations, parents, and young people. These presentations resulted in successfully mobilizing community decision makers, including many who were initially reluctant, to join them in working to reduce alcohol availability and underage drinking. Their findings are currently driving media advocacy, policy advocacy, and other environmental change strategies.

The challenges and strengths of using youth-adult partnerships to conduct community assessment and implement data driven community change strategies related to underage drinking will be highlighted. The unique aspects of carrying out such efforts in urban and rural area will be discussed. Also presented will be lessons learned and recommendations for other communities that wish to utilize youth-adult partnerships for community assessment and implementation of environmental prevention strategies to reduce alcohol availability and underage drinking.