Lake County Board proclaims April 2025 Alcohol Awareness Month

The Lake County Board of Supervisors on April 2025 adopted a proclamation designating April 2025 as Alcohol Awareness Month in Lake County. Vice Chair Rasmussen presented the proclamation, which the board signed and Chair EJ Crandall adopted.

The proclamation, read at the start of the agenda item, stated that April is dedicated to increasing public awareness of alcoholism and misuse, its causes, and available treatment and recovery. It noted the public-health harms of excessive alcohol consumption and urged community participation in prevention and support activities.

Elise Jones, director of Lake County Behavioral Health, thanked the young people who joined the presentation and said their participation showed “you can have fun and, like, do cool stuff, without that.” Richie Okino, who identified himself as a worker in the school system for Lake County Behavioral Health Services, said alcohol use has become normalized among students and urged parents to reconsider allowing underage drinking at home.

Paul Verhey, senior counselor with Lake County Behavioral Health Services and supervisor of the county DUI program, said DUI programs are an opportunity for early intervention: “DUI is treatment. It's an opportunity to evaluate one's drinking behaviors against the backdrop of one's personal goals and values, and to become motivated to change.” Verhey noted the county operates public DUI services that keep fees low for residents and described a recently awarded state grant to expand medication-assisted treatment in the DUI program.

The board and speakers cited local data in the discussion. The proclamation text and speakers referenced that Lake County Behavioral Health Services in calendar year 2024 provided DUI program services to about 563 participants, assisted with about 566 substance-use treatment service requests, and offered treatment services to about 256 individuals. The proclamation also noted that 20.3% of Lake County youth ages 12 to 17 have engaged in binge drinking, a rate noted as higher than the state average.

Paul Verhey shared broader health statistics, saying that between 2018 and 2022 Lake County ranked first in California for deaths due to chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, at a rate of 42.9 per 100,000 compared with a state average of about 13 per 100,000. He added that excessive alcohol use is a leading preventable cause of death and described recovery services available locally, including the county's in-house medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and partnerships with agencies such as Archway Recovery Services.

Laura Sullivan of Redwood Community Services urged attention to pregnant and parenting people affected by alcohol use and noted Redwood offers residential and outpatient services with childcare for children up to age 12.

Supervisor remarks emphasized prevention and modeling better behavior for youth. Supervisor Rowan thanked speakers and urged strengthening youth capacity to resist peer pressure. The proclamation concluded with the board joining the Lake County Department of Behavioral Health Services in urging community participation in alcohol-awareness activities.

The proclamation was passed and adopted in April 2025 and signed by Chair EJ Crandall. No formal roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript for this item.