KidsPeace Awarded PLCB Grant For Teen Alcohol Awareness And Underage Drinking Prevention

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Oct 19, 2011, 09:00 ET

Grant to Fund New Sub-Section of TeenCentral.net

OREFIELD, Pa. Oct. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- KidsPeace is one of 19 Pennsylvania organizations that have been awarded grants from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) to support education campaigns aimed at preventing underage alcohol use. Will Isemann, KidsPeace President & CEO, announced the $15,000 grant award today.

"KidsPeace is very honored to be selected as a recipient of this critical funding to assist in our efforts toward prevention of underage and dangerous alcohol use," Isemann said. He announced that the grant will fund a new sub-section of the KidsPeace website TeenCentral.Net to address the dangers of alcohol use by teens. Dr. Julius Licata, TeenCentral.Net director, will oversee the project.

The PLCB also awarded grants to 27 law-enforcement agencies, 26 college and universities and five school districts for underage drinking prevention efforts as part of its 2011-2012 Alcohol Education Grant Program.

"Alcohol is the most commonly used drug among young people, according to a recent study released by the Centers for Disease Control," said Jerry Waters Sr., director of the PLCB's Office of Regulatory Affairs. "We know underage drinking has a tremendous impact on youth, families and communities throughout Pennsylvania, and we are committed to providing the resources necessary to help children make better choices."

Developed in 1998, TeenCentral.Net is the groundbreaking, problem-solving website that offers teens a safe and confidential environment to share their questions and concerns about everyday challenges they face. The site, designed and maintained by KidsPeace youth psychology and counseling experts, provides responses to teens within 24 hours and enables teens to post stories about their experiences and share responses to stories in a "peer mentoring" atmosphere. Receiving between 1.5 and 2 million hits per month, TeenCentral.Net has registered more than 479,000 young people since its inception. The free site does not accept advertising and is anonymous for all users.

Highlights of the proposed TeenCentral.Net Alcohol Awareness Sub-Section will include:

KidsPeace PLCB grant

An interactive section will be created to demonstrate the effect of a specific amount of alcohol. Teens will be able to enter a number of drinks and the type of alcohol (beer, liquor-based mixed drinks, wine, shots, wine coolers, etc.) and determine intoxication levels.

Teens may access the site 24 hours a day, seven days a week and receive counseling within 24 hours of their submission. The site will offer an additional benefit to youth, providing them with responses to the thoughts they have written and offering the opportunity to read about other teens who face similar challenges with respect to peer pressure, their use and abuse of alcohol and drinking and driving.

The TeenCentral.Net Alcohol Awareness Sub-Section will offer specific resources for adolescents, providing distinct and individualized support, as well as ongoing tools that they can utilize.

The new section of TeenCentral.Net is projected for completion in early 2012.

About KidsPeace
Founded in 1882, KidsPeace is dedicated to serving the behavioral and mental health needs of children, preadolescents, teens and young adults, offering a comprehensive range of residential treatment programs; accredited educational services, and a variety of foster care and community-based programs to give hope, help and healing to children, families and communities. KidsPeace offers services in Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia