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Many young people get conflicting messages about the use of alcohol.

In response to that, Grand Futures Prevention Coalition is using April's National Alcohol Awareness Month to focus on the positive side of educating youths about the dangers of alcohol, and how adults and community members can play a key role in supporting abstinence and making good choices.

Colleen Lyon, Grand Futures county director, recently has asked the fifth-graders at Straw-berry Park Elementary School and Soda Creek Elementary School about where they see people consuming alcohol.

"They see alcohol consumed at home, restaurants, bars, school buses and on the ski mountain," she said. "They think the whole world is alcoholics. They're confused because they see one thing and hear another."

Lyon has been teaching them some of the hard facts about what alcohol does to their brains and bodies.

"Children who begin drinking before the ages of 21 to 25 have a much higher risk of becoming addicted as adults later in life," she said. "It stunts that development and that's really the fact that we want to hit home."

This time of year is critical to get information regarding alcohol out there because spring break, prom and graduation parties are looming in the near future.

"We want to get the message across to parents and any adult who is over 21 and doesn't have kids and hosts parties where underage people might be there," Lyon said. "It's uncool for the kids."

Part of the education invol-ves helping students find alternate activities that don't include alcohol.

"We also want to give them the tools and skills if they are in a situation where someone has had too much to drink," Lyon said. "So they will know what to do and not be afraid to call for help and know not to leave someone alone."

Grand Futures is working on a bigger initiative with the Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurses Association on a media campaign that offers tips on how parents can talk to their children about this difficult topic.

"The majority of parents have rules and consequences that surround alcohol in the home, and a huge majority of parents wouldn't let their child go to a party where alcohol is served," Lyon said. "We want to put that norm out there and know that it is OK to say 'no' if they think alcohol will be served to their child."

The two leading causes of teenage deaths are car accidents and fatal injuries, and underage drinking is a major factor in those incidents.

"Alcohol is not bad," Lyon said. "It's how people use it."

- To reach Allison Plean, call 871-4204

or e-mail aplean@steamboatpilot.com