Pubdate: Sun, 12 Mar 2006
Source: Boston Globe (MA)
Copyright: 2006 Globe Newspaper Company
Contact:  http://www.boston.com/globe/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52
Author: Kathy McCabe, Globe Staff
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/faith+based (Faith-Based)

CLERGY JOIN WAR ON DRUGS

Forum Slated In Saugus

SAUGUS -- The faith community has joined Saugus's fight  against 
teenage drug and alcohol abuse and related  crimes.

The Saugus Clergy Association will hold a drug  awareness forum at 7 
tomorrow night at Belmonte Saugus  Middle School on Dow Street to 
brainstorm about how to  curb excessive drug use, particularly heroin 
and other  opiates.

"We've done enough to raise awareness," said the Rev.  Robert G. 
Leroe, president of the clergy association  and pastor of Cliftondale 
Congregational Church. "Now  we need to talk specifics and develop a 
course of  action."

After-school programs, neighborhood-watch groups, and  training for 
parents to spot signs of drug use are  among the methods that clergy 
members say they believe  could decrease drug use among Saugus youth. 
Other  topics, including providing better support for youths  and 
identifying challenges facing parents, also will be  discussed.

"As leaders of the faith community, we should have a  voice in this," 
Leroe said. "We have to be part of the  solution to what is clearly a 
very big problem in  Saugus."

In 2004, results of the American Drug and Alcohol  Survey showed a 
higher than average rate of use among  Saugus youths, particularly in 
grades 6 through 12.  Forty-six percent of high school seniors and 43 
percent  of juniors reported having been drunk in the month  before 
taking the survey, compared with a national  average of 31 percent.

The survey found 19 percent of the school's freshmen,  30 percent of 
its sophomores, 30 percent of juniors,  and 38 percent of seniors 
reported having used  marijuana in the month before; the national 
average was  21 percent.

The survey did not measure use of heroin and  prescription opiates 
like OxyContin -- drugs now  responsible for an average of two to 
three overdoses  each week in town, and a rash of crimes like armed 
robbery, Saugus police said.

"They want quick, fast cash, and armed robbery is a  way to do it," 
said Lieutenant Michael Annese, the  Saugus police spokesman. "All 
the reports I read point  to those crimes being linked to the drug 
problem we  have."

The clergy association was invited to join the drug  fight by Greg 
Nickolas, the town's director of youth  and recreation. He is also a 
member of Saugus Speaks  Out, a town committee that has been trying 
to raise  awareness about the drug issue since the survey 
results  were released.

The committee sponsored community forums and special  programs, 
including one on parenting tips offered by  Essex District Attorney 
Jonathan W. Blodgett. But  Nickolas said too few Saugus parents paid 
attention.  "We were striking out," he said. "We had very minimal 
attendance at events. We were working with businesses,  schools and 
police, and we were still coming up short."

On his own, Nickolas asked the faith community to help.  In the fall, 
he asked to speak about the drug problem  in Saugus during religious 
services. "I was running  around like a roadside prophet," Nickolas 
said.  "Everybody was great about letting me speak. And now  the 
clergy is taking this very seriously."

In January, the clergy association's first forum drew  more than 200 
people to Blessed Sacrament Catholic  Church. Nickolas is hoping for 
an even better turnout  tomorrow at the middle school.

"People can no longer be complacent about this," he  said. "And with 
the clergy behind us, we hope people  will finally listen."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom