Project Sticker Shock: Parents who host lose the most!



WAUKESHA (WITI) -- Waukesha County Drug Free Communities is partnering with over 30 county businesses for Project Sticker Shock, a program aimed at parents about the dangers of serving alcohol to underage individuals.

Memorial Day Weekend counts as the unofficial start to summer, and especially in Wisconsin, celebrations are often accompanied by alcohol. But letting your underage kids partake in the festivities could put them at risk later on in life.

The Yo Cool Yogurt shop is one of several area businesses trying to spread the word that parents who host lose the most. If you visit the yogurt shop, pizzeria, or liquor store, they all share something in common, a sticker.

"The idea is parents should have seen it at the school when they picked up or dropped off their child, they should have seen it at the place that they order their pizza, they should see it at the yogurt place where they go with their family," said Julianne Davan, addiction resource council board.

All three business are part of Project Sticker Shock.

"I made out a flyer and we submitted it to as many businesses within Waukesha County that we could think of that had anything to do with let’s say prom or graduation or alcohol," said Tammy Caputa, probation and parole agent.

The businesses that agreed to participate are posting yard signs, window clings, or actual stickers on their property and products, reminding adults that parents who host lose the most.

"A lot of people start with alcohol and I’ve seen people use it as young as eight, nine years old," said Caputa.

Caputa says starting your kids on alcohol when they're young could lead to bigger problems down the road.

"They get their high and then they want a bigger high," said Caputa. "It starts with something as small as alcohol and it can go to, you know, progress all the way to marijuana use, up to prescription pill use, up to unfortunately heroin use.”

Alex Hoffmann of Yo Cool Frozen Yogurt has plastered his yogurt cups with the stickers. He says they help start a conversation about the problem.

"By condoning drinking at the house we’re also condoning the use of the drugs," said Hoffmann.

Hoffmann knows firsthand the pain that the downward spiral of addiction can cause. His family struggled for years to save his son. Unfortunately, his son died at the age of 22-year-old from a heroin overdose. Hoffmann says alcohol helped get him there, which is why he's only too happy to play a part in sticker shock.

"If one family can be saved I will be a happy man," said Hoffmann.

Project Sticker Shock is set to run through the weekend, or however long it takes each business to run out of stickers. The yogurt shop says they're hoping to reach about 1,000 people.