Cringe the Binge

What is Cringe the Binge? Cringe the Binge is a grass roots initiative that aims to reverse youth binge drinking by supporting individual and community action. We promote discussion amongst young people, parents, teachers, community partners, share the latest information & research about the issue, support & promote alcohol free events & activities - and encourage young people to Binge on Life NOT Booze! Why Cringe the Binge? Tragically, alcohol kills 5 Young Aussies each week. To us as youth workers, this is unacceptable, and primarly preventable. We understand that some young people will drink, we just want to encourage them to make good choices and stay safe. The culture of binge drinking alcohol is alarmingly widespread, seriously harmful and urgently needs to be changed. There are compelling local and national statistics which identify youth binge drinking as a significant cause of serious personal and social harms such as alcoho- fuelled violence, sexual assault, sexually transmitted infections, exacerbating mental health conditions, impairing adolescent brain development, disproportionate drink driving fatalities and injuries and potential chronic illness caused by early onset drinking. What does the Cringe the Binge crew do? National Weekend of Action - Each year we hold a Weekend of Action in November to draw attention to the issue of youth binge drinking - the issues, and the solutions - and we ask everyone to stop and think about their relationship with alcohol. We also ask people that if they are concerned about the impact of binge drinking and alcohol on our young people to donate what they would normally spend on alcohol to Cringe the Binge via our website. Music Events -BluesFest, Splendour in the Grass, Boomerang Festival, Falls Festival - Our Cringe the Binge info stall provides free breathtesting service, information & education that supports festival goers to make good choices. Info Stalls at Local Community Events - We've attended CrankFest, the Living Earth Festival, TEKSTAR, and a range of other local events to promote young people making positive life choices. Fundraising events - Join our annual Donate & Win prize draw and you might end up enjoying a fabulous weekend in Byron Bay with great food, accomodation and healthy experiences. Youth Events & Activities - We organise and support skate events, music events, youth driven activities that promote safe and healthy alternatives - particularly for underage young people. Byron Schoolies Blow Zero Competitions - Each year Cringe the Binge participates in the Byron Schoolies Safety HUB at main beach. We offer schoolies the chance to take home a signature Cringe the Binge Schoolies Singlet if they BLOW ZERO on our breathalyser three nights in a row, delaying their consumption of alcohol. Competitions & Community Engagement - in 2012 we designed a set of cheeky posters to capture young people's attention on a range of issues associated with binge drinking. Conferences, Forums, Workshops & Submissions - We attend and participate in forums, workshops and conferences to help community efforts to tackle binge drinking issues. We also participate in key decision-making processes regarding youth & alcohol issues and have made submissions and presentations to a range government inquiries. 2012 National Alcohol Summit "Alcohol Advertising & Young People" Canberra NSW ILGA Community Conference Byron Bay - Dan Murphy decision Aust Drug Foundation "Local Government & Alcohol Issues" Workshop Melbourne 2013 NSW Alcohol Summit Parliament House Sydney Australasian Drug & Alcohol Strategies Conference Sydney Launch of the Alcohol Advertising Review Board First Annual Report Melbourne NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into Young People and Alcohol Related Harms 2013 Review of the NSW Liquor Act Newcastle CDAT Conference "Alcohol & Other Drugs at the Crossroads" How is any fundraising used? We will use money raised by Cringe the Binge to help support our activities to reverse youth binge drinking rates in Australia. We have made a range of FREE resources available via our website and will comntinue to develop materials and tools to share with youth and community workers, parent, tachers and young people around Australia. We will support alcohol free activities and events for young people that offer an alternative – particularly for underage young people - whenever we can. Who are we? Cringe the Binge is an initiative of Byron Youth Service (BYS). As the primary provider of youth services in the Byron Shire for the last 25 years, BYS has been at the coalface tackling the issue of youth binge drinking. In January 2012, Cringe the Binge was created in response to the growing need to bring greater awareness to the issue of youth binge drinking not just in Byron Bay, but all around Australia. Byron Youth Service has committed itself to reversing the culture of binge drinking. We have actively engaged with over 50 community and national partners in our aim to build a coalition of organisations committed to creating a change. This network includes the local State and Federal members, the Mayor and elected Councillors, Public and school leaders, Local Police Command, Youth Agencies, Service Clubs, mainstream and online Media, Byron Youth Theatre, BUDDI, Business Owners, Byron Liquor Accord, NSW Health, STEER, Community Entrepreneurs and high profile members of the community. BYS is a member of NAAA (National Alliance for Action on Alcohol) and is enlisting support for the campaign with many other national organisations and university academics committed to action on alcohol related social harms. We believe that galvanising grassroots, community based action is an effective way to create the commitment, knowledge and energy needed to change behaviours. Our Steering Committee : Steering Committee Di Mahoney, Director of Byron Youth Service Stephanie Sims, Events and Volunteers co-ordinator Richard Heazlewood Ross, Media and PR Vicki Hendricks, Media and PR Memberships BYS is a member of the following: National Alliance for Action on Alcohol (NAAA) NSW/ACT Alcohol Policy Alliance (NAAPA) Byron Bay Liquor Accord Byron Schoolies Safety Working Group Byron Shire Council Summer Safety and Cultural Activities Committee Awards 2011 BYS were recipients of Byron Shire Youth Council Certificate of Acknowledgement for our ‘ongoing commitment to young people in the Byron Shire. In recognition of our achievements in improving the lives of local young people and especially for the excellent achievements in addressing the huge problem with binge drinking amongst young people and the wider Byron Shire Community.’

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