Pubdate: Thu, 08 Dec 2005
Source: Roslindale-West Roxbury Transcript (MA)
Copyright: 2005 Community Newspaper Company
Contact:  http://www2.townonline.com/roslindale/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3773
Author: Lindsay  Crudele, Staff Writer

COMMUNITY SOUNDS OFF ABOUT DRUG ABUSE PROBLEM

Drug use is not only prevalent, it's downright impossible to avoid in 
Roslindale. That's what some young people claimed at a recent meeting 
of Healthy Roslindale, which painted a picture of a Parkway not as 
healthy as some would hope.

The program, which in Roslindale focuses on  youth and public safety 
issues, held a Thursday night meeting to hear out  members of the 
community about what they see as the largest source of the drug 
problem. In the spring, another event will be held to collect further 
input and  come up with a plan to help combat drugs in the community.

"What we're trying to do is to first look at  data and perceptions by 
people, police and courts about drug use in community,"  said Cathy 
Slade, head of Healthy Roslindale.

Neighbors and community members discussed  what they thought were the 
groups most responsible for eliminating the  circulation of drugs. 
Slade said they named parents first as the most  responsible, 
followed by youth workers, teachers and coaches. Police were 
listed  last, since she said it may be the case that people view them 
as intervening figures rather than preventative. She said she did not 
recall anyone naming  clergy.

"Some of the young people from Roslindale  were saying how drugs are 
pretty prevalent in their neighborhood and at school,"  said Slade. 
"It's readily available, in a way. They mentioned it's just tough to 
stay away from it."

Younger people mentioned marijuana as a  common drug in the area. 
Drugs changed to cocaine and heroin commensurate among  older people. 
Slade said one area of drug users often overlooked is those in  their 
30s and 40s.

"People always think it's young kids," she  said, "but people of all 
ages are doing drugs."

Roslindale Board of Trade head Lisa Modecker  attended, and said she 
found the discussion "helpful to get the young people's  perspective 
about their concerns about drug use, in and around Roslindale. 
It  was quite telling."

The spring meeting will propel Healthy  Roslindale into a position of 
coming up with a group plan of attack which Slade  said may include 
holding community events and working with newspapers to educate 
parents about warning signs and things to look for.

"At the next one, we'll talk a lot more about  who we should ask for 
help in the community," she said.

Amy Helburn, a community health specialist  with the Medical 
Foundation, which works with Healthy Roslindale, said she was  struck 
by a woman in one of the discussion groups who said she didn't 
believe drugs only limit a specific age group. Earlier, attendees 
discussed inhalant and  alcohol use among fifth- and sixth-graders 
because of the ease of access to the  substances.

"Yet, it goes all the way up to folks like  senior citizens who might 
have a hidden problem with drinking or pharmaceutical  drug abuse," she said.

"There's really a big push in public health  to affect things at the 
community level," said Helburn, to "focus on issues  pertaining to 
Roslindale itself, that will get people mobilized, keep momentum  going."

She added that a good idea for Roslindale  would be to partner with 
other communities with similar issues, since they may  already be 
sharing police and medical services.

Mark Prisco, first assistant chief of  probation with the West 
Roxbury division of Boston Municipal Court, said that 73  percent of 
his clients in 2004 had substance abuse problems. "We see it on the 
back end," he said.

"One thing we try to do is try to monitor  their sobriety, either by 
giving drug tests here, or refer them to the Office of  Community 
Corrections," he said. "If they can't stay clean, there's treatment or jail."

Men's and women's outpatient groups exist  where Prisco works, as 
well as a program for young offenders between 17 and 21  years old. 
"That deals with problems of kids just drinking in the woods, out in 
parks or in cars," he said.

"We're trying to help them, but it's a  problem. We've seen a lot of 
heroin use amongst younger offenders. It's very  difficult, we find, 
for them to get a handle on it."

But combining regular and random monitoring  helps keep drug problems 
in check, said Prisco, because of the addition of  accountability and 
threat of legal consequence.

"That seems to be the weight hanging over  their head; they don't 
want to go to jail," he said. "But with more  sophistication of drug 
use; heroin, crack, you see a lot of people fall back.  And sometimes 
that long-term treatment can be hard to access."

Drug use is not just a Roslindale problem,  though, said Prisco. 
"It's a problem in every community," he said, and added  that 
Roslindale is in a good position to improve because it is home to 
caring  community leaders.

"The key is educating young people and not  tolerating the drug 
dealers," he said.

Police value community input, such as from  crime watch groups, and 
often first glean valuable information from them. Those  kind of tips 
are helpful for pointing out areas with lots of traffic, 
where  people come and go from a house.

Prisco said that young people can be  encouraged to be leaders 
themselves. "You can say, it's OK not to do drugs, not  to smoke 
weed, and support fellow students in a positive manner," he said. 
"It's  so easy to get addicted."

Healthy Roslindale began operating in 1992 on  a city grant for which 
neighborhoods across Boston could apply and tailor to  their specific 
community needs. Three years ago, Slade said the program chose to 
focus on youth and public safety issues.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman