"Sticker Shock" Hits Putnam County!

Naura Slivinsky and Kristin McConnell

Stickers at Shop Rite of Carmel

Communities all over New York and the United States are trying to figure out what they can do to prevent the alcohol-related deaths or injuries that are too often associated with the summer season. This year, local retailers have partnered with the Putnam County Communities That Care Coalition to recognize alcohol awareness and take action to prevent such tragedy from happening in our County.

Due to the recent arrests in Putnam County related to adults providing alcohol to minors, the Putnam County CTC Coalition has implemented a new environmental strategy entitled “Sticker Shock”, which is an activity supported by the Office of Substance Abuse and US Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention. This project aims to reach those individuals over age 21 that legally purchase alcohol and provide it to a minor by reminding adults of the Putnam County Social Host Liability Law. The campaign consists of a Coalition designed sticker being adhered to multi-packs of alcoholic beverages (beer, wine coolers, etc) in participating retail stores.

During the week of July 9^th, Coalition members visited retailers that volunteered to host this project. Participating stores that generously donated their time and space were:

1. Shop Rite of Carmel, 180 Gleneida Avenue, Carmel, NY 10512
2. Carmel Beverage, 323 New York 52  Carmel, NY 10512
3. Brewster Wine and Liquor, 1515 New York 22  Brewster, NY 10509

1,300 stickers were placed on boxes by Coalition members. For safety purposes, stickers do not cover bar codes, nutritional information, or alcohol content. The stickers state the following:

Allowing Underage Drinking At Your Home Is No Party!:  Did you know you could be subject to: 1. Up to one year in jail, a $3,000 fine, and reimbursement for law enforcement services?

Members of the Putnam CTC Coalition are available if you have any questions or would like for us to do a presentation to your organization on this or any other substance abuse trends that affect our children.  If you are a retailer interested in participating in this project, please call the Putnam County Communities That Care Coalition at 845-225-4646, Ext. 13 or Elaine Santos at putnamdfcgrantee@gmail.com. Supplies are limited. Please visit and join us on Facebook by searching “Putnam County Communities That Care – NY” or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/PutnamCTCNY or call 845-225-4646