• In Fairfield County, the average age that a child takes his or her first drink is 11.7 years of age (UConn study)
• Youth in Fairfield County consume 20% more alcohol than the national norm (UConn study)
• Kids who start drinking before age 15 are 5 times more likely to have alcohol problems when they’re adults.
  

Local communities in our region are committed to educating parents on this issue. For more information on Parent Education/ Awareness Events throughout the region, please see the events calendar or contact:

Ingrid Gillespie, Director of Lower Fairfield County Regional Action Council by email or by phone at 203-356-1980 ext 108

For a fact sheet for Parents, go to: ctclearinghouse.org

• Persons age 65 and older constitute the fastest growing segment of the American population.
• As people age, they become more sensitive to alcohol’s effects.Many medicines, both prescription and over-the-counter can be dangerous or even deadly when mixed with alcohol.
• Because alcohol problems among older persons often are mistaken for other conditions associated with the aging process, alcohol abuse and alcoholism in this population may go undiagnosed and untreated or be treated inappropriately.
• Health care providers should discuss alcohol use with their older patients as a part of routine care. Advice to older patients should include the medical conditions common to older people, such as high blood pressure and ulcers, that can be worsened by drinking and over-the-counter and prescription drugs that can be dangerous, or fatal, when mixed with alcohol. Where there is no medical condition that would preclude the use of alcohol, older patients should talk to their doctor about recommended alcohol consumption rates. Generally recommended to limit to one drink/day.
• Health care providers, including emergency room personnel and admitting physicians who suspect an alcohol problem in their elderly patients, should refer such patients to treatment.  For more information go to: alcoholism.about.com
  

For information on resources for older adults and substance misuse in Lower Fairfield County please contact:

Bill Gonzalez, Director of Liberation Seniors Program by email

John Sayers, Director of the Recovery Program, Greenwich Hospital by email

• Research suggests a close relationship between alcohol problems and mental health. People with mental health problems face an increased risk for alcohol problems and vice versa.
• The overall prevalence of alcohol dependence is almost twice as high among people with mental disorders than in the general population. It is not clear whether mental health problems are a cause or a result of problems with alcohol dependence.
• People may use alcohol to cope with a variety of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.  For more information: mentalhealth.samhsa.gov
  

For more information on mental health resources in Fairfield County, please contact:
Kim O’Rielly, Executive Director of the South West Regional Mental Health Board by email