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"Do you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" (1 Cor. 6:19)

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OCCHY (Orthodox Christian Coalition for Healthy Youth) is a relatively unique national alliance founded and supported by the Department of Youth and Parish Ministries of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese. In this partnership we are committed to establishing, training and leading substance abuse prevention and intervention coalitions across America.

OCCHY is also a local community network movement to address substance abuse prevention and healthy living. OCCHY seeks to unite Orthodox Christian Church communities as well as public and private sector professionals and community advocates with the purpose of creating a healthier environment for our youth. Each local coalition offers and promotes distinctive substance abuse solutions, promotes healthy sexuality and righteous living through awareness, education, mentoring, environmental design modification, and substance abuse prevention tactics. This alliance offers communities of the Orthodox Church an opportunity to heighten awareness of how to combat substance abuse, prevent bullying, encourage sexual abstinence outside of marriage, and encourage respect for the sanctity of the human body.

ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY is comprised of the Churches that trace the ordination of their bishops directly back to the Christ through His Holy Apostles, and which have faithfully maintained the teachings of this Apostolic Lineage unadulterated. The term “Orthodox” means “right teaching,” and through the Orthodox faith we are witnesses to the full revelation of God’s Word, and are responsible to live and abide fully in His teachings. The Apostolic Succession of the Antiochian Church traces to the episcopacy of Saint Peter in Antioch. Saint Peter ordained Eudoius his successor, Eudoius ordained Ignatius his, and so forth to the present day. We are the historic Church spoken of in the Acts of the Apostles 11:26 where it reads that the “disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”

Orthodox Christian churches in America consist of several jurisdictions including the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America, the Orthodox Church in America, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in America, and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, all affiliated with the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of America or SCOBA. Orthodox Christian Churches in America have a broad range of traditions, ethnicities and cultures. The Antiochian Archdiocese has over 260 parishes across the United States and Canada, many of which were originally established to support the needs of many Middle Eastern (Syrian and Lebanese) immigrants, but to which have been added converts from numerous Christian denominations. For resources to learn more about Orthodox Christianity, visit: www.antiochian.org/discoverorthodoxchristianity

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Letters

Recently one of my teachers shared with our class an article related to a pretty comprehensive study that was conducted a few years ago on the harmfulness of various drugs (article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6474053.stm#drugs). The surprising thing about this study was that it deemed alcohol and tobacco to be among the most dangerous drugs in terms of the harm they can do to self, others, and society--alcohol ranked 5th most harmful, close to heroin and cocaine; tobacco, 9th.

All of this got me thinking, about alcohol especially. If alcohol is really this harmful, then I personally believe it should be our priority to tackle this issue. My teacher mentioned that the reason alcohol use--binge drinking in particular--is so rampant among teens these days is because teens are always so stressed out that many turn to drinking as an escapist way of relieving their stress. Now I know that there are plenty of other reasons why teens drink, but I feel that this reason is one that we can do something about. As Orthodox Christians, we are blessed to have alternative methods of stress relief: namely, prayer. My suggestion for the NAC Board/OCCHY would be to take on the problem of alcohol abuse as stress reliever by educating teens about or encouraging teens to use prayer, rather than alcohol or other drugs, to deal with stress. Tim Markatos

In Christ,
Tim
SOYO President
Diocese of Worcester and New England

Through OCCHY we strive to Reduce Substance Use and Abuse by Youth as well as to promote healthy sexuality and respectable behavior.

OCCHY is a 501c3 non-profit alliance.
Monies from every donation and purchase
are used to promote Healthy Youth efforts
and to expand the development
of substance prevention coalitions.

To Donate:
Visit our Contact Page

Binge Drinking

New estimates show that binge drinking is a bigger problem than previously thought. More than 38 million U.S. adults binge drink, about 4 times a month, and on average the largest number of drinks consumed is eight. Binge drinking is defined as consuming four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men over a short period of time.

As reported in this month’s Vital Signs, the CDC found that those who were thought less likely to binge drink actually engage in this behavior more often and consume more drinks when they do. While binge drinking is more common among young adults aged 18–34 years, binge drinkers aged 65 years and older report binge drinking more often—an average of five to six times a month. Similarly, while binge drinking is more common among those with household incomes of $75,000 or more, the largest number of drinks consumed on an occasion is significantly higher among binge drinkers with household incomes less than $25,000—an average of eight to nine drinks per occasion, far beyond the amount thought to induce intoxication.

Adult binge drinking is most common in the Midwest, New England, the District of Columbia, Alaska, and Hawaii. On average, however, the number of drinks consumed when binge drinking is highest in the Midwest and southern Mountain states (Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah), and in some states— such as Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina—where binge drinking was less common.

Binge drinking is a dangerous and costly public health problem.

It is important to consider the amount people drink when they binge and how often they do so.
Most alcohol-impaired drivers binge drink.
Most people who binge drink are not alcohol dependent or alcoholics.
More than half of the alcohol adults drink is while binge drinking.
More than 90% of the alcohol youth drink is while binge drinking.

Binge drinking costs everyone.

Drinking too much, including binge drinking, causes more than 80,000 deaths in the United States each year.
Drinking too much, including binge drinking, cost the United States $223.5 billion in 2006, or $1.90 a drink, from losses in productivity, health care, crime, and other expenses.
Binge drinking cost federal, state, and local governments about 62 cents per drink in 2006, while federal and state income from taxes on alcohol totaled only about 12 cents per drink.
Drinking too much contributes to more than 54 different injuries and diseases, including car crashes, violence, and sexually transmitted diseases. Over time, binge drinking also can lead to liver disease, certain cancers, heart disease, stroke, and many other chronic health problems.
The chance of getting sick and dying from alcohol problems increases significantly for those who binge drink more often and drink more when they do.

What you can do.

Choose not to binge drink and help others not do it.
Follow the U.S. Dietary Guidelines on alcohol consumption; if you choose to drink, do so in moderation— no more than one drink per day for women and no more than two drinks per day for men. Pregnant women and underage youth should not drink alcohol.
Support effective community strategies to prevent binge drinking, such as those recommended by the Community Guide.
Support local control over the marketing and sale of alcoholic beverages.
Support the minimum legal drinking age of 21 years.

More Information

Letters

     The first time someone asked me why OCCHY was so important, one story popped into my mind. I would like to share it with you.
     Within the first few weeks of my freshman year of high school, our small, sheltered town was shocked with devastating news. My principal got on the loud speaker, crying, and told our entire school that my best friend’s brother was killed in a car crash around 2 o’clock that morning. The announcement stunned our school, and before we knew it, the whole town.
     Naturally, everyone was wondering how this could have happened. It happened because of one really bad decision mixed with rain and another drastic choice. He was on his way home from a party going a little too fast, he’d been drinking, and he wasn’t wearing his seatbelt.
     I will never forget holding my best friend at the wake, or all the times she has woken up crying, looking for support that I knew I could not do justice giving her. The feelings she has shared with me about the pain and heartbreak of losing her brother seem so wrong to have anyone go through.
     This was a horrible way to learn a lesson, but it sure taught some people in our town not to make the same mistake. He was a loving person with a very bright future. He just made the wrong choice, and that ended up costing him his life.
     This horrifying story has taught me that drinking and drugs are truly detrimental in young lives. I never could have imagined seeing someone go through the loss of such an important person in their life, never mind watching my best friend do it.
     I would like to close this letter by thanking you for your support in the efforts of bringing OCCHY to parishes across the archdiocese. We, as teenagers in North America, need positive influences and role models in order to guide us to make the decisions that will affect the rest of our lives.
Morgan

In Christ,
Morgan
Secretary of Media
Diocese of Worcester and New England

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