Pubdate: Wed, 01 Oct 2003
Source: Courier-Journal, The (KY)
Copyright: 2003 The Courier-Journal
Contact:  http://www.courier-journal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/97
Author: Sheryl Edelen

PORTLAND RECEIVES $100,000 DRUG AID

Grant Will Help NOW Group Fight Susbstancesubstance Abuse

A Portland group received a $100,000 federal grant yesterday to help keep 
the neighborhood's pre-teens and young adults from abusing tobacco, alcohol 
and drugs.

Because Portland is such a tight-knit community - generations of families 
often live side-by-side and go to school together - it had an edge in the 
competition among this year's 582 applicants, federal officials said.

"It wasn't an easy application to write or to win. Congratulations," Mary 
Ann Solberg, deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, 
told 30 well-wishers and residents gathered at Portland's Neighborhood 
House community center for the announcement.

"You understand the connection between drug abuse and community problems .. 
and know that local problems require local solutions," she said.

The 2-year-old Portland NOW neighborhood group is one of 183 recipients to 
receive up to $100,000 through the federal Drug-Free Communities Program.

Because the grant is renewable for four years, the group could receive up 
to $500,000.

The money will be used to train community leaders for Creating Lasting 
Family Connections, a family-based prevention program. Formed by the 
Council on Prevention and Education Substances, a 25-year-old 
Louisville-based agency, the Family Connections program will be offered to 
adults and children at three or four Portland sites.

Plans also include the creation of a task force that will devise a 
long-range plan to reduce the use of tobacco and other drugs.

U.S. Rep. Anne Northup of Louisville, who attended the gathering, said 
residents' special love of community and family makes the neighborhood 
deeply committed to reducing drug activity.

"Groups in the Portland community are serving as great partners as we 
assess in Washington how to deal with this problem across the country," 
said Northup, R-3rd District.

A big part of the game plan that helped Portland win the grant came from 
surveys by the Portland NOW Prevention Partnership, a group created by 
Portland NOW to deal specifically with abuse issues, said the Rev. Joseph 
Fowler, president of Portland NOW and pastor of the neighborhood's St. 
Cecilia Catholic Church.

Of the 445 students and 63 adults polled, the surveys found that:

a.. 73 percent of 12th-graders in public schools believe there is only a 
slight risk or no risk in smoking marijuana regularly.

a.. 51 percent of 10th-graders in public schools believe there is only 
slight risk or no risk in consuming alcohol regularly.

a.. 83 percent of 12th-graders and 77 percent of 10th-graders in the public 
schools believe that marijuana is easy to obtain.

a.. 41 percent of 10th-graders in public schools believe that other drugs, 
such as cocaine, are easy to obtain.

"We found that there is a lack of awareness at the middle and high school 
levels about the dangers of drugs and alcohol," Fowler said. "We want to 
help them look at the basic good in their lives and give them the tools to 
fight peer pressure."

Debbie Seng, a longtime Portland resident and Portland NOW member, said she 
thinks the program could change lives.

"I'm thrilled. I think kids need to learn some real information about drugs 
and alcohol, not just the information on the streets," Seng said. "Think 
about how much drugs affect the community ... it can make better lives 
possible for our children."

Even some people who don't live in Portland left yesterday's gathering 
feeling good about the group's plan.

Lucile Leggett, a resident of the adjacent Russell neighborhood, said she's 
optimistic about the program's potential impact on her community.

"I'm concerned about the problem - we have some of the same things going on 
in Russell," she said. " I came to get ideas."

The two neighborhoods "have people who know and communicate with each 
other" across neighborhood lines, she said. "This could have an indirect 
impact on us."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens