As the coordinator of the Greater Kingston Area Safe & Sober Community Alliance (Alliance), it has been a privilege to work with so many engaged and passionate community partners.  In the early years of the partnership, our main focus was to raise awareness about drinking and driving and to support our police partners in increasing enforcement efforts on area roads.  The partnership name “Safe & Sober” reflects the focus of this work, which, along with our lead agency KFL&A Public Health, included advocacy at the provincial level.  While drinking and driving fatalities still represent about one-quarter of all traffic fatalities in Ontario, the good news is that provincial changes to drinking and driving legislation have been significant.  According to the Ministry of Transportation, Ontario currently has the safest roads of any jurisdiction in North America.

After the first 10 years, partners were asked to identify and prioritize how the Alliance could make a difference in the KFL&A community over the next 5-10 years.  It became clear at that time that there was a desire to broaden our mandate even further.  We knew that a cultural shift was required to de-normalize risky alcohol use in our community.  This was going to involve engaging and targeting youth, parents, and the community at large through community forums, material distribution, and the media.  In addition, we needed to target key community leaders and politicians to advocate for both provincial and local policies that could nurture a supportive environment – one where alcohol-related harm is minimized.  

 Before targeting these groups, we needed to document the impact of alcohol on the Kingston community.  After all, if there was nothing wrong, why try to fix it?  KFL&A Public Health and the Alcohol Strategy working group partners guided this process and supported the development of a local Alcohol Report.  

It is our hope that this will help motivate and guide key stakeholders in the development of a local Alcohol Strategy – a strategy built around evidence-informed policies and interventions that will help increase community health and safety, while at the same time reduce the financial burden on municipally funded services in dealing with alcohol-related problems. 

The challenge in moving forward will be in communicating who we are and where we are coming from.  The “Safe & Sober” Alliance is not calling for a return to prohibition.  But rather an acknowledgement that alcohol is no ordinary commodity and has the potential to impact the health of the population when used above low risk levels.  A monumental task?  Perhaps...but one that needs to begin with a conversation.  Won’t you join us?

Come and take part in an evening forum featuring Ann Dowsett Johnston – a Queen’s Alumna and award winning Journalist.  Her presentation entitled: “Our Love Affair with Alcohol: How a Fairy Tale Romance Blocks Strong Policy and How Media Can Help” will take place at St. Lawrence College in Davies Hall from 6:30 to 9:00 pm on Monday, Nov 5^th.  Read Ann’s 12-part series on Women and Alcohol published last Fall in the Toronto Star.

Cathy Edwards, Coordinator

Greater Kingston Area Safe & Sober Community Alliance