Community Corner

Carpino Attends Responsible Hosting Campaign Event

Joins local municipal, public safety leaders and students at event in Cromwell to bring awareness to dangerous trend.

Rep. Christie Carpino on Wednesday joined the Middlesex County Substance Abuse Action Council (MCSAAC) for its Responsible Hosting Campaign, an effort to prevent under-age drinking throughout Middlesex County.

Carpino (R, Cromwell) joined local municipal, public safety leaders and Cromwell High School students at Willowbrook Spirit Shop in Cromwell to confront the issue of social hosting, a dangerous trend that involves parents or adults providing people under the legal drinking age of 21 with a place to consume alcohol.

The Responsible Hosting Campaign is a country-wide movement designed to unite parents who choose to say “no” to social hosting for the betterment of all children and young people. The main goal of the campaign is to change the perceptions and attitudes of parents by providing accurate information on the norms of the practice. For instance, in 2010, the MCSAAC conducted a household survey of 631 people across 9 regions of Middlesex County. The results showed that 82 percent of adults are in fact against serving minors.

"This program is about breaking an attitude rooted in yesteryear. Parents should know that very few, if any, of their friends and neighbors allow minors to drink at their homes," Carpino said in a press release. “As a community, it’s important we do all that we can to protect our children from alcohol abuse, and the hazards that come with it. Parents are the first line of defense.”

The Willowbrook Spirit Shop, a family owned and operated business for 36 years, is well-known in the Cromwell community for preventing underage drinking.

“We have the latest technology for checking I.D.’s from all 50 states, including cameras throughout the premises,” Jay Polke, co-owner of Willowbrook Spirit Shop, said in the release. “We try to stay on top of possible underage purchasing at all times.”

So far, around 18,000 pieces of Responsible Hosting Campaign material have been delivered to 11 local prevention councils across 15 towns.

Carpino represents Cromwell, Middletown and Portland.

Find out what's happening in East Hampton-Portlandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here