The air was still cool on the morning of October 28th when youth leaders from YLI and Fresno County Friday Night Live gathered in front of the local FoodsCo with banners, buttons, pledges and a slew of bright yellow stickers. These dedicated young people had risen early on a Saturday to educate the community about the dangers of underage drinking and the major source of the problem: adults who provide alcohol to minors.
In 2007, the City of Fresno passed a Social Host Ordinance, which fines adults who supply alcohol to minors in their home or residence up to $1,000 for each underage person drinking alcohol. Yet, of the ~6,000 young people surveyed by YLI’s youth leaders, over 70% reported that they are getting alcohol from adults they know.
In celebration of National Red Ribbon Week, the youth decided to launch a Sticker Shock campaign in partnership with local retailers that sell alcohol products in the communities of Fresno, Kerman, Selma, Clovis, Orange Cove and Reedley. They designed and printed thousands of stickers, and have scheduled multiple events with retailers to affix the stickers to cases of alcohol as a warning to adults. The campaign was kicked off with a press conference at FoodsCo, where they shared their research findings with local news and television stations.
The story was aired on the local TV station, ABC 30 Action News, as well as The Fresno Bee.