RAYMONDVILLE — A town hall meeting here will focus on the dangers of underage drinking.
Communities Against Substance Abuse, or CASA, will hold the event Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Veterans Park, First Street and Durango Avenue, in Raymondville.
Panelists will include Raymondville Municipal Judge Felicita Gutierrez, Ruben Garcia of the Mesquite Treatment Center, Willacy County Sheriff’s Department officer Ernesto Garcia and Region 11 Prevention Resource Center evaluator Irwin Mendoza.
“We need to stop pretending alcohol isn’t a problem and be open about how it is affecting our community,” Gutierrez said. “Each of us has a role and a responsibility.”
In a CASA survey of adults conducted from September 2015 to last September, 51.1 percent of respondents reported youths had easy access to alcohol at home.
“The survey is telling us that alcohol is easily accessible to our youth and that it is generally perceived as a social norm and the community must become completely aware of the facts and consequences of alcohol,” Rosalie Tristan, CASA’s coordinator, said in a press release.
