The Missoula Forum for Children and Youth will present another Town Hall Conversation on the influences of underage alcohol abuse on Wednesday, October 23.

Brandy Tyree, coordinator of Missoula Underage Substance Abuse Prevention said on Wednesday, October 9 that Missoula Sentinel High School will once again be the venue for a conversation between youth, parents and educators.

"I think now that parents are more willing to talk about their kids drinking, they have more information to draw from about underage alcohol abuse, prescription drugs and tobacco use," Tyree said. "The more the community's on board, the easier it is for authorities to enforce the laws they already have. It just generates momentum so the health and safety of our kids is on the forefront of everybody's minds."

Tyree commented on the influence of social media on today's youth, both positive and negative.

"We need social media and I love social media because it can be a tool for prevention," Tyree said. "But, I think police officers will tell you that kids use social media as a way to plan their parties, it's a way to get around talking to their parents, and they create tweets and Facebook posts that their parents don't understand. So, I think social media is somewhat of a double-edged sword."

The next town hall meeting will be Wednesday, October 23 at Missoula Sentinel High School with a community resource fair at 6:00 p,m. and the conversation over underage alcohol use at 6:30 p.m. The event is free, and light refreshments will be served.

Brandy Tyree, coordinator of Missoula Underage Substance Abuse Prevention

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