Pubdate: Thu, 31 Oct 2002 Source: Hartford Courant (CT) Copyright: 2002 The Hartford Courant Contact: http://www.ctnow.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/183 Author: Associated Press TOWN LEADERS TO SET UP TASK FORCE TO STUDY DRUG PROBLEM WINDHAM, Conn. -- Town officials say they will set up a task force by the end of the week to study the Willimantic section's heroin problem and propose solutions. First Selectman Michael Paulhus announced the formation of the new panel to nearly 200 people at a public forum on the drug problem Wednesday night at Windham High School. The former mill town, situated between Boston and New York, has been a prime stop for heroin dealers for nearly three decades. A recent five-part series by The Hartford Courant documented the history, scope and human toll of the problem. As many as 300 addicts live in Windham. The forum and the task force were part of the response to the newspaper's report. Chris Cantu, who said his family lives in one of the town's poorer sections, told the Norwich Bulletin that he did not see anyone from his neighborhood at Wednesday's forum. "They're all middle class," said Cantu, an 18-year-old University of Connecticut student. "Not many here are from the poor community who live near the drug dealers." Paulhus was joined at the forum by state Rep. Walter Pawelkiewicz, D-Windham, and eight experts in social services, law enforcement, judicial matters and education. Paulhus announced that he would oversee the establishment of the task force. He said the group would take 90 days to assess the drug situation and recommend actions. Forum panelists said there isn't enough funding for community policing, a drug court, more extensive drug treatment programs, counseling for students with mental health and substance abuse issues or after-school programs. "We do not get our fair share of resources," Pawelkiewicz said. Gov. John G. Rowland and national drug czar John Walters visited Willimantic Tuesday to tour a drug treatment center. Rowland later announced he would make $100,000 in state money available to narcotics enforcement officers in the area. Panelists also said no one agency can handle the problem by itself. "You are not going to police your way out of the drug problem in the community," Capt. Lisa Maruzo-Bolduc of the Willimantic Police Department said. Residents expressed concerns about children playing in parks and neighborhoods littered with discarded drug needles and about whether their property values would decline due to the focus on drugs here. One panelist, Diane Potvin, has been in recovery for 15 years. Potvin, an area coordinator for Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery, was once homeless and unemployed. She said more people like her in town are starting to talk about their successes in recovery and that could encourage addicts to consider getting help. Potvin said beds in treatment centers and other resources need to be immediately available when addicts seek help because it doesn't take long for them to change their minds. Deborah Walsh Bellingham, executive director of Perceptions Programs Inc., a drug treatment program, said she believes the best answer to the substance abuse crisis in the region is to "medicalize" drugs, a theory that, in part, calls for more focus on treatment and prevention. Willimantic Police Lt. Clifford Spinner stood to give his closing remark: "The hardest thing for a society to do is look at itself under a microscope. We started that tonight," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth