Pubdate: Fri, 18 Feb 2005
Source: Intelligencer, The (WV)
Copyright: 2005 The Intelligencer & Wheeling News Register
Contact: http://www.theintelligencer.net/news/feedback.asp
Website: http://www.theintelligencer.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1633
Author: Michelle Blum

GROUP VIES TO TAKE BACK STREETS

WHEELING - Taking back the streets and halting drug trafficking and 
violence are the ultimate goals of a group that hopes to build community 
spirit in an East Wheeling neighborhood.   East Wheeling residents met with 
members of the Hopeful City Drug Task Force to begin planning their efforts 
Thursday at Wayman AME Church in the 1100 block of Eoff Street.

The group is set to meet again at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 3, at the church.

Meanwhile, Hopeful City is sponsoring a "Come and See" event from 9 a.m. to 
3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, at First English Lutheran Church, 35 16th St., 
Wheeling.

The session is designed to give the public an overview of the Hopeful City 
organization, she said.

"It kind of gets what the organization is all about," said Hopeful City 
spokeswoman Sue Thorn.

The session will answer such questions as: What is faith-based organizing? 
Why should we organize? How can my congregation benefit from participating? 
How do I, or my congregation, fit in? How does my congregation stay 
connected to Hopeful City? What is power organization?

There is a Tuesday, Feb. 22, deadline for registration for the day-long 
event. For further information, call (304) 233-0171.

While Thursday's meeting comes just over a week after shots were fired for 
the second time in a matter of weeks at the intersection of 14th and Wood 
streets, an area in which drug trafficking reportedly is prevalent, Thorn 
noted the group has been moving toward its goal for some time.

Thorn said the task force is also working with Northern Panhandle community 
corrections officials regarding alternative sentencing for drug offenders.

Because the state's budget calls for reducing funding for community 
corrections from an expected $1.5 million to $800,000, the task force is 
planning a lobbying effort in Charleston on Tuesday, March 8.

Transportation will be provided for those wishing to attend, Thorn said.

In what form the task force efforts toward ending drug trafficking and 
violence will culminate has not yet been determined, Thorn said.

But the discussion at the meeting involved building community spirit as 
part of the efforts.

"We've assessed what the problems are. We now have to decide what we're 
going to do," said the Rev. Yolanda Wright of Wayman AME Church.

Wright called for action by the community.

"We need the community to lead the endeavor," she said.

The community members, she said, should not approach the alleged drug 
dealers with anger.

"But if we don't say to them we will not allow this to take place, anything 
we do is all in vain," she said.

Both Thorn and Wright noted East Wheeling residents should spearhead the 
efforts with residents of other neighborhoods playing a supporting role.

"People in the community should take ownership," Wright commented.

Wright and Thorn urged those in attendance to undertake one-on-one 
conversations with neighbors, urging them to take a stand on community 
concerns, including drug trafficking and violence.

"A lot of what we do is a process," Thorn said, noting that talking to 
people helps build community spirit. That in turn, can lead to change, she said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth