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City of Melville to host Party Safe Panel
The City of Melville invites all parents and their teenagers to participate in a free, informative panel discussion on safe partying, from 7.00pm to 9.00pm on Wednesday, 21 October 2009. The event will be held at The Vault youth space at the City’s Civic Centre, adjacent to the Hoyts end of Garden City.
The ‘Party Safe’ session is being hosted ahead of the Leavers Week celebrations, from 24 to 27 November 2009.
Health and Wellbeing Coordinator Janet Armarego said a panel of experts would provide parents and their teenagers with essential information about the teenage party scene, including alcohol and the law, and safety tips for Leavers. “The panel will include: a police officer from Palmyra Police Station; a representative from Quarry Health; a relationships coach; a representative from the Keep it Safe Summer (KISS) program; and a young person from the community. They will also discuss with parents how to talk to their teens, the issue of drink-spiking, as well as practical information on keeping safe when consuming alcohol. There will be opportunities to ask questions and engage in discussion with the experts,” she said.
“The session is pertinent to all parents and teenagers as research suggests that the mortality and hospitalisation rates for acute alcohol-related conditions are particularly high among young people aged 15 to 24; and three times as much as that of their older counterparts in some instances. Research has shown at least 40 per cent of Western Australians aged 14 years and over drink at levels that put them at risk of harm from incidents like violent injury or vehicle crashes. And the most recent WA student data tells us about 27 per cent of 12 to 17-year-olds are drinking at risky levels,” she said.*
“Knowing what to do in an emergency and having enough information to make informed choices when partying certainly decreases the chances of things going wrong. The Party Safe panel discussion will cover all the main issues surrounding youth safety in an informal, friendly environment,” she said.
Mayor Russell Aubrey said youth safety had been identified as an issue through a number of different consultations conducted by the City. “The Party Safe panel discussion is in line with the City’s public health and youth strategies, and is part of the City’s shared vision to achieve a Safer Melville,” he said. (For more information, please see www.melvillecity.com.au/safermelville).
Light refreshments will be provided. Please RSVP on phone 1300 635 845 for catering purposes by Monday, 19 October 2009.
*Statistics taken from the 'Impact of Alcohol on the Population of Western Australia' report 2008.