Dayton | Graphic by Abigail Abbott | The Wright State Guardian
April is Alcohol Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness of alcohol consumption and misuse. The importance of understanding the many causes of alcohol misuse in the Dayton area and educating each other on the resources available is emphasized this month.
Alcohol Awareness Month
Alcohol Awareness Month recognizes the struggles facing those who are victims of alcohol abuse and consumption.
“Previously called alcoholism, alcohol use disorder is a medical condition that involves drinking frequently or excessively,” the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center website reads. “People with alcohol use disorder often can’t stop drinking even when it causes negative social, health or even legal consequences.”
Consuming alcohol safely and responsibly is a privilege not known to all. Many face issues with addiction that affect the way a person reacts to addictive substances.
The month of April is dedicated to victims struggling with alcohol abuse and is a time to educate others on the dangers of alcohol misuse and resources available to those in need.
Alcohol addiction is dangerous due to the accessibility of the substance and the commonality of young individuals being introduced to alcohol before being of age.
Tina Rezash Rogal, the director of Strategic Initiatives and Communications at the Montgomery County Alcohol, Drug Addiction & Mental Health Services Board, spoke about the danger of being introduced to alcohol at an early age.
“Our teenage population is drinking, sometimes excessively, at a very early age. 13, 14 or 15-year-old kids can gain access to alcohol through their parents or their friends that are only a couple years older,” Rezash Rogal said. “What the research is quite clear about is that the earlier an individual starts drinking alcohol, the higher likelihood they will have alcohol use disorder when they become adults.”
To those currently struggling with abuse of alcohol and substances or recovery, this is the time to bring the issue to light and raise awareness on treatment options to further tackle the problem at hand.
Alcohol abuse is an issue common across America, and each area is affected in many ways with varying resources and solutions.
How the Dayton area is affected
Alcohol is the leading substance plaguing those with addiction, among other substances.
The Dayton community, with access to alcohol at the utmost convenience, suffers from the negative effects of alcohol.
The problem goes deeper into the community aspect of Dayton. Alcohol abuse affects a victim’s physical and mental health and personal relationships and makes people question Dayton’s commitment to providing citizens with a healthy lifestyle.
The health disparities that follow with addiction plague victims in a lifelong manner.
“Individuals with addiction can struggle with long-term health impacts. Diabetes, heart disease, depression, anxiety. All sorts of things can impact our bodies,” Rezash Rogal said.
According to the Ohio Department of Health, alcohol use causes 6% of new cancers and 4% of cancer-related deaths each year.
Prevention is key in limiting the abuse of alcohol. This is possible through limiting the number of drinks consumed each day and becoming educated on the health effects of drinking excessively.
The Dayton community offers numerous resources to receive addiction treatment, but it is also important to recognize the adversities that impoverished urban communities face, which limit citizens’ abilities to live healthily.
Historical ties
Recognizing the dangers of substance abuse also means calling attention to external factors. Of the many causes of alcohol abuse, victims living in impoverished communities with limited access to resources are one.
Communities with limited access to fresh food, good education, health care and other necessities may contribute to victims of alcohol abuse struggling to live a healthy life.
Several cities across the U.S. have neighborhoods that remain victims of historical redlining, and Dayton is one of these cities.
Historical redlining, which began in the 1930s, targeted the African American community by denying loans based on housing locations. More specifically, the government outlined areas on maps to specifically marginalize urban communities.
This practice segregated the African American community from white neighbors and intentionally brought down the worth of redlined neighborhoods.
Redlining was eventually outlawed in 1968, following the implementation of the Fair Housing Act, but the lasting effects of redlining continue to live on today.
Selena Burks-Rentschler is a Wright State University alumna and worked as an associate producer on ThinkTV’s documentary “Redlining: Mapping Inequality in Dayton and Springfield” and is knowledgeable on the subject of redlining in the area.
Burks-Rentschler spoke on the impact that historical redlining has had on the Dayton community, involving limited access to necessary resources for victims of redlining.
“You look around certain neighborhoods and see symbols of the lack of investment in the community. You’ll see check cashing places, or liquor stores, or corner stores, but you don’t see anything like a grocery store or a national chain bank. It’s like those items are missing in these communities, and it has a direct impact on how people live,” Burks-Rentschler said.
In regards to these establishments placed in urban communities, Burks-Rentschler stated how redlining keeps citizens in these areas impoverished.
“It is, in my mind, a way to keep people distracted and to keep them complacent. It’s like the system has been set up to do its job and is functioning very well, and it takes a lot for someone to scale classes when you’re at the bottom. It’s just really just disheartening that there are so many people who don’t have [the opportunity to] better their lives in a way that will make a major impact,” Burks-Rentschler said.
As for solving the issue that historical redlining has created amongst modern communities, it is a big issue that requires a big solution.
Burks-Rentschler explained that locally, raising awareness on the issue of redlining has created a buzz in recent years, but a solution would need to be created on a larger, federal level.
Living in an impoverished urban community does not guarantee that a person will develop an addiction, but it is important to recognize that tools for a healthy lifestyle are limited in these areas.
How college students are affected
Students on college campuses are also susceptible to the dangers of alcohol. Universities are a common place for overconsumption and misuse of alcohol and substances.
Party culture on campus not only promotes unsafe consumption practices, but alcohol is easily accessible on a college campus, especially for those under the legal age of 21.
Rezash Rogal emphasized the importance of educating university students on binge drinking.
“What we really want college students to understand are the dangers of binge drinking and that there is [a] chemical change that happens in your brain when you binge drink,” Rezash Rogal said.
For females, binge drinking is consuming four or more drinks on one occasion in the past 30 days, while for males it is five or more drinks.
Binge drinking leads to a higher risk of substance abuse disorder, chemical changes to a person’s brain and changes in decision-making.
Educating others on the negative effects of binge drinking is necessary as early as possible to prevent the problem early on.
Resources for those struggling
Dayton and the surrounding area offer several resources to those struggling with substance abuse and addiction.
The ADAMHS Board aids in the recovery journey of those struggling with substance addiction and abuse. ADAMHS accepts local, state and federal funding, and distributes that back out to 50 mental health and substance abuse service providers across Montgomery County.
Through ADAMHS, Montgomery County is given accessible behavioral health care and offers resources to those struggling or those close to a person struggling with addiction.
Many programs have been put in place to better educate and elevate the community to tackle the problem at hand.
The Safe Homes Program educates parents on ways to communicate with teenagers about responsible drinking and set positive examples in the household. The Retailers Care Program educates local establishments on ethical advertising practices that do not encourage alcohol consumption.
Other resources include the Life Recovery Center, the Urban Minority Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Outreach Programs and the Community Health Center of Greater Dayton, to name a few.
These resources provide treatment that is effective and affordable to those ready to start thinking about recovery.
Alcohol and substance abuse recovery is a lifelong journey for victims of abuse, but hope remains present throughout. As Alcohol Awareness Month passes, recognizing the bravery of those engaging in recovery and educating others on the impact of irresponsible alcohol consumption will improve the conditions of communities.
