The Town of Needham is working to prevent underage alcohol use and promote road safety across the region through the Sober Truth On Preventing Underage Drinking (STOP Act) grant awarded to the Needham Public Health Division. The four-year, $200,000 STOP Act grant aims to prevent and reduce alcohol use among youth and young adults in Needham by addressing common alcohol access risk factors to create safer communities. A significant component of this grant is organizing and hosting safe serving trainings for our community.
Communities around the country have experienced the painful loss of alcohol-related traffic fatalities reflecting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data: One person dies every 45 minutes in the United States due to an alcohol-impaired driver.
In Massachusetts, according to the Alcohol, Health, and Safety in Massachusetts report by Jernigan and Zhou, residents surpass the national average in terms of probability of being in a fatal alcohol-involved crash, with 32.4% of all fatal crashes in the state related to alcohol-impaired driving, compared for 28% of national average.
On a more local level, data shows that while most Needham High School students do not report drinking alcohol, the prevalence of adolescent alcohol use remains a concern for our community.
In effort to maintain Needham as a safe community for all members, especially our youth, the Needham Public Health Division, in collaboration with the Needham Police Department, hosted a responsible beverage service and sales training on October 16th in the Town Hall for all alcohol-licensed businesses across Town. Needham community members representing 7 local businesses participated in this Training for Intervention ProcedureS (TIPS) training for safer practice of selling and serving alcohol to patrons in Needham. A total of 19 Needham staff members from restaurants, bars, private clubs, and liquor stores attended this five-hour, nationally recognized TIPS training session.
The Town of Needham and the members of the Public Health Division extend our sincere thanks to the businesses who participated in the TIPS training, including, Bin Ends Wine, Capella Restaurant, Sheraton Needham, the VFW, Latina Kitchen and Bar, The Common Room, and Gari Fusion. The Needham Public Health Division looks forward to offering more TIPS training sessions in 2024.
For more information about the TIPS training please contact Karen Shannon at kshannon@needhamma.gov.
