LEWISTON — Healthy Androscoggin has been a leader in Maine in making significant impacts on reducing underage drinking.

Androscoggin County has had the lowest underage drinking rate since 2009 and Healthy Androscoggin was selected to present on its successes around underage drinking prevention at a recent national conference.

The coalition was one of 28 coalitions nationwide, and the only one from Maine, to present at the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America National Leadership Conference in National Harbor, Md. The focus of Healthy Androscoggin’s presentation was on partnerships with law enforcement and alcohol retailers to reduce access and prevent underage drinking.

Healthy Androscoggin partners with several law enforcement departments through the Androscoggin County Alcohol Enforcement Team, or AET. The departments carry out details in their communities, and jointly as a county-wide team, to enforce the underage drinking laws of Maine. This includes party patrols, where they investigate tips on underage drinking activities, and compliance checks where they ensure that retailers aren’t selling to minors.

Another important partner in underage drinking prevention are the stores and on-premise establishments that sell or serve alcohol. Healthy Androscoggin has collaborated with these businesses on several programs, including the Responsible Beverage Service training program, a Healthy Androscoggin program to train store employees about not selling and serving to minors.

Many retail locations have become sponsors of the Parents Who Host, Lose the Most campaign. This public awareness campaign educates parents on the risks and liabilities of hosting an underage drinking party.

“The Healthy Maine Partnership and Drug Free Communities grants have been huge in giving Healthy Androscoggin the capacity to forge some powerful community partnerships and programs to address underage drinking,” according to Healthy Androscoggin Substance Abuse Prevention Manager Scott Gagnon.

“In turn, this strong, unified community approach sets a powerful community norm in Androscoggin County that underage drinking isn’t just a ‘rite of passage’ that will be condoned and swept under the rug. We are going to continue to address it as a community. This is why you see Androscoggin County with the lowest underage drinking rates in Maine,” Gagnon said.

For more information about Healthy Androscoggin’s substance abuse prevention programs and initiatives, visit www.healthyandroscoggin.org