HUGS Director: Westhampton Beach Village Has Highest Rate of Teen Drinking

Westhampton Beach teens drink more and more often than other East End teens, according conducted by the Town of Southampton Youth Bureau and HUGS, a non-profit Westhampton Beach organization that is dedicated to alcohol and drug prevention.

Kym Laube, executive director of HUGS, who presented the findings to Village of Westhampton Beach trustees on Wednesday evening, said that that 69 percent of Westhampton Beach teens have reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days — the national average is 40 percent, the Suffolk average 57 percent and the Southampton Town average is 40 percent.

"Our kids are drinking above the average," said Laube, who is lobbying the village board for additional support in her organization's mission: "To get youth to drink less and get parents to parent more."

The study also found, she said that 44 percent of local teens reported binge drinking over the last 30 days and of those 98 percent were high school seniors.

Laube says the average is higher in Westhampton Beach for several reasons, including:

• Parental Permission — Laube says that 50 percent of Westhampton Beach teens said their parents allow them to drink. Many parents also, she said work two, three and even four jobs to make ends meet and are not around to see what their kids are doing.

• Culture of "The Hamptons" — With a tourist community, Laube says alcoholic drinks are more easily accessible. In fact, she pointed out in 2.9 square miles, there are 42 businesses with liquor licenses, three liquor stores, one beer distributor and one pharmacy.

• Social Host Law — Laube says there are challenges with the law in a small village.

• Beach Houses — Laube says many area homes have fully stocked bars making alcohol easier to access.

• Language Barrier — Laube says she has witnessed teens ask Spanish speaking residents to purchase beer for them. With a language barrier, some Spanish-speaking residents don't know the law.

"We'd like to partner with the village to become part of this battle," said Laube, who says there are several things the village can do.

She outlined suggestions including strengthening the village's social host law and other policies to make it harder for teens to drink; obtain grant funding for prevention education; and make teen drinking education available for police officers.

The community can also help the problem by working to limit alcohol to youth and be role modes by having adult parties without alcohol and create a clear no-use message in the community, she said.

Laube says her organization has already worked to create an federally-recognized alcohol-free zone for parade viewing on St. Patrick's Day and has instituted a mandatory pre-prom meeting for parents.

Westhampton Beach Mayor Conrad Teller says village police are cognizant of the problem and just this week, they nabbed three teens for drinking; however, the mayor reported that some of the parents involved were not cooperative, proof that Laube's report is telling.

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