KMPH Fox 26 Central San Joaquin Valley News Source in Fresno, California Entertainment, News, Sports and Weather | Group Aims to Curb Teen Drinking

Group Aims to Curb Teen Drinking

By Clint Olivier and Kyra Jenkins

Dozens of teenagers and community volunteers joined together in downtown Fresno to tackle the issue of underage drinking in Fresno County.

"It's really scary for a lot of parents," Tony Garcia said.

Garcia is a youth leader with the Boys & Girls Club.

He's taking part in the Youth Leadership Institute's town hall meeting to combat underage drinking.

"I have younger siblings and the thought of them drinking at such a young age is ridiculous," he said.

Garcia is talking about a shocking study that shows the average age of a child's first drink in Fresno County is just 9 ½ years old.

A nation-wide report by the U.S. Surgeon General says teens that begin drinking at 15-years-old are five times more likely to become alcoholics.

"You can buy a 40 ounce bottle of beer cheaper than you can buy a bottle of water," Maureen Sedonaen said.

She says the key to ending underage drinking is for parents and kids to unite to spread the word that it's not okay.

"Because nobody is going to come out of Washington or Sacramento and provide the responses," she said.

Youth Leadership Institute members are now going to the Bay Area for another round of town hall meetings to education parents and children about underage drinking.