Members of Youth Partnership for Change, a program designed to empower young people to take a leadership role in educating peers, parents, and community members on the dangers and consequences of underage alcohol use, visited classrooms in Hill Country Middle School Nov. 3-5 to spread their message.

Young people 16-21 years old serve as community educators for YPC, connecting with school-aged children, helping them understand the severity of the consequences of underage alcohol use.

University of Texas freshman Dancy Glover and Pflugerville High School senior Jacoby Sanders visited Mitzi Key’s seventh-grade science classroom at HCMS last week and shared their stories. Sanders talked about his cousin, who lost a college football scholarship and Sanders respect after he began drinking. Glover talked to students about her concerns about the alcoholism that runs in her family.

“The YPC program is unique and works very well because it puts kids up there that are not much older than the students – kids meeting with their peers,” said Myra Constable, YPC program coordinator. “But what really makes the program work is that these presenters all have personal reasons for being there. When they start telling their stories, that’s when kids sit up and start listening.”

Glover and Sanders snapped students out of their afternoon doldrums, taking volunteers up to the front of the classroom to play games that drove home some frightening statistics. Alcohol is the number one drug of choice for kids in Texas. Nine teens die everyday in Texas from alcohol related causes. The average age of the first drink in Texas is 12. Texas leads the nation in the rate of alcohol-related traffic deaths among 15-20 year olds.

“We aren’t here to just throw out numbers to you,” Glover said. “These numbers represent real people. We just want you to see the big picture, the real picture.”

YPC is one of the programs supported by YouthLaunch, an Austin organizations that works to provide community service opportunities for young people. YouthLaunch also conducts programs on teen parenting and a program to cultivate young leaders. Kelly Dunn, prevention specialist counselor at HCMS said it is important to expose students to as many different messengers when it comes to warnings of the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. She said students at the middle school have the chance to hear information from a number of organizations, including YPC, the Travis County Underage Drinking Program and Project Alert.

“It’s important to show kids multiple pieces of the puzzle,” Dunn said. “I like presenters that are high school and college aged, because they are closer in age to the students here. If we can get information from as many different groups and people as possible, we increase the chance that one of those messages will go through and hit home with a student.”

To find out more information on YPC, visit the organization’s site at facebook.com/pages/Youth-Partnership-for-Change/174301580863?ref=mf. To volunteer with YPC, or to find out how to arrange for a speaker, contact Myra Constable at 342-0424.