Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation/TVS Coalition Network, Inc.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation’s Tempering the Valley of Steel (TVS) Coalition Network, the lead agency for Pennsylvanians Against Underage Drinking, builds grassroots partnerships and assists community organizations running youth education and prevention projects in 10 counties in southwestern Pennsylvania. The Too Smart To Start team in Pittsburgh will work through various school- and community-based programs for 9- to 13-year-olds and their parents.

To learn about the harms of underage alcohol use and how to promote awareness of these harms, youth will participate in the Project Northland program, and their parents and caregivers will be invited to attend a family strengthening training. In addition, students from three school districts will create underage alcohol use prevention messages and deliver them to peers during school announcements. These students will also run and take part in media activities including talk shows, chat rooms, and radio programs.

The team is collaborating with faith-based groups to host a weekly afterschool program for 9- to 13-year-olds and their parents. Lastly, the Pittsburgh team hopes to increase social unacceptability of underage alcohol use by helping youth hold community forums at which they discuss their perspectives on the subject.