About Us
Demographics & Mission Statement
The Community Coalition Against Underage Drinking was established in Gillette, Wyoming on December 6, 1999. Coalition members reside and work in Gillette as well as the surrounding county, which is Campbell County. The total population of Campbell County is around 35,000 people with about 25,000 of those people residing within Gillette city limits. Campbell County is rich in minerals and is widely known for its mineral development industries that include oil, coal and coal bed methane. Because of the mineral development, there is a constant influx of people who come to Gillette to work at the many jobs available here. With mineral development comes shift work involving one or both parents, which mean that very often kids are left unsupervised after school and into the evenings because the parents are still at work. Since unsupervised youth oftentimes find the wrong things to do, we find ourselves with a very high number of kids who are involved in alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
The Community Coalition Against Underage Drinking was formed in response to a serious concern about underage drinking in Gillette and Campbell County. The coalition focuses only on the problem of underage drinking and is under the sponsorship of the Campbell County School District.
There are over 60 members of the coalition. These include 19 parents, ten members of law enforcement (including the police chief, fire chief, and sheriff), six teachers, six administrators, three school counselors, the young adult services manager from our library, a representative from the Parks and Recreation Department, two people from the private substance abuse counseling agency, a local liquor dealer, the At Risk Specialist for the school district, the Emergency Management Coordinator for Campbell County, a representative from the county extension agency, two school board members, a business person from the community, two representatives of the anti-tobacco coalition, ten teens, and Miss Wyoming 2002, Beth Holland, whose platform is underage drinking.
The Community Coalition Against Underage Drinking meets on the third Monday of each month at 4:00 in the boardroom of the central administration building of the school district. Individual committees of the coalition may meet more often as needed. The Alternative Activities Committee meets on most Wednesdays during the year to plan the upcoming activities. This committee is made up of three adults and 8-10 teens.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Community Coalition Against Underage Drinking is to address the problem of underage drinking through as many avenues as possible. Specifically, we are addressing it through:
- Increasing public awareness of the problems associated with underage drinking
- Reducing the accessibility of alcohol to minors
- Establishing a relationship with the court system
- Providing alternative activities for teens so they know it is possible and preferable to have fun without having to include alcohol
