Pubdate: Sat, 26 Mar 2005
Source: Sentinel And Enterprise, The (MA)
Copyright: 2005 MediaNews Group, Inc. and Mid-States Newspapers, Inc.
Contact:  http://sentinelandenterprise.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2498

PROSTITUTION, DRUGS A VICIOUS CYCLE

Illegal drug use and trafficking hurts North Central Massachusetts in
numerous ways, but perhaps one of the saddest and most disturbing is
how heroin and cocaine help turn teenage girls into
prostitutes.

Lucille Cormier, Fitchburg District Court's chief probation officer,
said most prostitutes are drug addicts.

"It's very rare to have a prostitute that's not on drugs," she said.
"I think we only have one right now."

Her comments are included in today's installment of our 10-part
series, "Decades of Addiction-Drugs in North Central Mass," which
focuses on drugs and prostitution.

Fitchburg Police Chief Edward Cronin has seen junkies that need five
to 10 bags of heroin a day just to function.

"Many prostitutes are high all the time," he said. "Which might make
their job easier."

Officials say these women come from Fitchburg, surrounding cities, and
sometimes different states -- drawn to the area for its cheap housing,
solid customer base and drug availability.

They start as young as 13, and some stay in the game until they're in
jail, sick or killed.

But they are not the only victims of illegal drug use. The prostitutes
lure men from all through the region, including New Hampshire, into
Fitchburg and Leominster, to troll the streets looking for women to
buy. Their presence can ruin a neighborhood, and poses serious public
health and safety risks.

One man told the Sentinel & Enterprise he was walking down the road
with his young niece and saw a John with a prostitute.

But there are ways to attack the problem. We support the initiative
crafted by Fitchburg Mayor Dan H. Mylott and City Councilor Matthew
Straight that calls for fines and a 48-hour car impoundment for anyone
trying to buy drugs or prostitutes in Fitchburg. "My goal is to
embarrass and inconvenience the hell out of these Johns," Straight
told the Sentinel & Enterprise.

Cormier continues to work with prostitutes to try to get them off
drugs for good, but it is not an easy battle.

Still, she continues to fight it, and we owe her our thanks for that.
We also support the launching of a new initiative at area district
courts like the one being use in Worcester District Court.

The program, called Developing Alternatives for Women Now (DAWN) works
to empower troubled female prostitutes, giving them the foundation to
abandon the lifestyle. It's an eight-week program.

"We already had an ex-prostitute volunteer to get involved," Cronin
said of the program. "We're going to need many different people
getting involved with this. ... This is something a police chief
cannot do alone." Participants have access to detoxification programs,
substance-abuse counseling, mental health treatment, health-care
services and counseling for victims of violence.

"We have seen success," Worcester probation officer Maureen
Chamberlain said of the fairly new program. "But it's important to
understand this isn't the answer to prostitution. We don't expect they
won't be before the court again. .. It's a beginning. We help them
make connections."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin