There are nearly 60 convenience and package stores in Selma and with five of those stores within 300 yards from schools, the opportunity for youth to try alcohol is constantly available, and local organizations are taking action.

The Selma Dallas Prevention Collaborative and the Cahaba Center for Mental Health are fighting for a change in Selma’s alcohol sales referendum to make sure alcoholic beverages are not sold for consumption within 300 feet of any school or within 200 feet of any church. In addition, any vendor selling alcohol must be a minimum of 500 yards from any kindergarten through 12th grade institution.

Tracey Craig, prevention manager for Cahaba Center for Mental Health, said it’s important for adults and community members to educate themselves about the dangers of using alcohol.

“Parents need to let their children know it’s not OK to drink even when they are supervised at home,” Craig said. “We want the adults to show children how to handle alcohol and encourage them to use it in moderation as adults.”

According to recent surveys performed by the Collaborative and Cahaba Center, local youth will experiment with alcohol as early as 10-years old and more than 4 percent of eighth graders surveyed said they’d used alcohol in the past 30 days.

According to statistics from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, youth between the ages of 12 and 20 have tried alcohol for the first time. Young people who begin drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to drink by the time they’re 21. Additionally, children who drink alcohol before the seventh grade are more likely to report academic problems, substance abuse and delinquent behavior in both middle and high school.

“If you wait until you’re an adult, age 21 to drink, then you are far less likely to abuse alcohol,” Craig said. “And because the brain doesn’t fully develop until 25, if someone uses alcohol before that age, it can retard brain growth and development.”

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, said excessive alcohol use causes impaired memory, anxiety, damage to the brain and nerves, brain shrinkage, damage to heart muscles and cirrhosis of the liver. Severe cognitive and coordination problems, like shaking or flapping of the hands, can also occur.

Craig has used such programs as the Mendez Program (or “Too Good for Drugs”) and “Protecting You, protecting Me” (Sponsored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving), to inform local schools about the dangers of alcohol use.

“We have life skills programs for first through fifth graders to teach them about the effects of alcohol on the brain and body, peer pressure or bullying,” Craig said. “We also have something called ‘project alert,’ which we use in the middle schools to just help strengthen teachers’ message to parents.”

The Selma City Council’s public safety committee is set to review the proposed ordinance change during a called committee meeting Monday at Selma City Hall. Council members had asked city attorney Jimmy Nunn to draft up a suggested ordinance based on information provided by the advocacy groups.