Last March, the community of La Crescent, MN decided to take action in response to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in their community. The La Crescent Parent Network organized a workshop entitled Walking the Talk that brought nearly 100 parents, youth educators, police officers and community members together to talk about alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and what the La Crescent community can do to make it a safe and healthy place to grow up.

One of the co-organizers and a parent remarked, "we really felt it was time to pull the community together and talk about what assets we really need for the whole community to be functioning well." One participant said she "wanted to find activities for her kids that are safe and drug free." Another parent said, "they say this is a way to prevent problems from happening and focus on positive activities." The interactive format of the workshop enabled young people and adults to speak openly about topics that are often not easy to discuss.

Walking the Talk assists parents and other adults with questions such as, what can we say to young people about using alcohol, tobacco or other drugs except that it's against the law? At what age and times are discussions appropriate? What can we-particularly those of us who are parents-say if we are already concerned about a young person's use? What can we do to make our community a healthier place in which young people can make better decisions about alcohol, tobacco and other drug use? Walking the Talk acknowledges and affirms the legal and appropriate use of alcohol and other drugs as well as supports the decision not to drink. It encourages participants to consider their own guidelines for using and not using alcohol and other drugs. Once developed, these guidelines can be used to assist others to make safe, healthy, legal and appropriate choices about the use and nonuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. The guidelines can also be used as the basis for intervening with someone whose use is illegal, unhealthy or risky.

While directed to adults, Walking the Talk can be adapted for use with adults and young people together as was done in La Crescent. It's not hard for other communities to make the same effort. If you would like more information on Walking the Talk materials, workshops, or facilitator training, please call 800/247-1303 or 612/427-5310 in the metro area.