If you have issues viewing or accessing this file contact us at NCJRS.gov. u.s. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy Development and Research Office of Public and Indian Housing Together We Can • • • Create g-Free N' U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Policy Development and Research Office of Public and Indian Housing Together We Can. • • August 1992 141076 U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice This document has been reproduced exactly as received from the person or organization originating it. Points of view or opinions stated in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the National Institute of Justice. Permission to reproduce this;§ ;e' I c! material has been granted by Public Domain/ u.s. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development HTHONS to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). Further reproduction outside of the NCJRS system requires permission of the ~ owner. FOREWORD n January 1990, President Bush and I visited the Charles Houston public housing community in Alexandria, Virginia, to witness the dramatic progress that community has made in ridding itself of dmgs, crime, and despair. Impressed. by the community spirit and positive results, President Bush pledged to help public housing communities across the Nation end the scourge of dmgs. We are keeping that pledge. Today, many public housing agencies and residents, like those in Alexandria and others highlighted in this book, are winning important battles against dmgs and violence. Many are forming resident management groups that work in concert with police 2!ld community-based organizations. The development of a self-help resident movement underscores the message that citizen organization is paramount in reclaiming a community from dmgs. The lesson is clear: communities where citizens are organized and active are experiencing extraordinary decreases in dmg activity. One such community, featured in this book, is Norfolk, Virginia. Through the "We Care" program, residents banded together to eliminate dmgs and are working toward self-sufficiency with the help of the public housing agency and the private sector. These efforts are expanding the residents' educational, employment, and entrepreneurial opportunities. The Norfolk initiatives exemplify something this Administration is seeking to achieve--empowerment of the poor. Under President Bush's direction, HUD has shifted its focus from providing shelter alone toward providing families with the tools to take control of their lives. The Department's empowerment agenda is multifaceted. A key building block is the development of resident management organizations. During my tenure as Secretary, the number of public hOUSing resident groups has increased significantly, and more than 200 groups are training for resident management. Many also are engaged in initiatives that will lead to more secure communities, economic opportunities, and homeownership. The HOPE (Homeownership and Opportunity for People Everywhere) grants program, part of the National Affordable Housing Act of 1990, dramatically expands homeownership and self-sufficiency opportunities for public housing and other iii low-income families. Because having a stake made available, too, for Public Housing in managing or owning a home is vital to Drug Elimination Grants that may be used winning back and maintaining a safe and to increase law enforcement activities and vibrant community, HOPE gives public develop prevention, intervention, and housing residents the chance to own their treatment programs. homes or apartments. HOPE also targets Federal funds to residents to help provide Empowerment must also embrace the next them with the tools of self-sufficiency. generation of adults in our communities. By cultivating responsibility, pride, and Other HOPE initiatives empower low-income motivation in our youth, drugs can be people to live with dignity and independence eliminated and youth can be launched on by offering necessary support services. The the road to effective citizenship. One of the Administration's Shelter Plus Care program most promising developments I know of in will enable the homeless who are seriously public housing is the flowering of community mentally ill or substance abusers to obtain youth and civic groups that work to mold permanent rental assistance and health care, character, encourage teamwork, inspire education, and other services. The Family educational achievement, and develop Self-Sufficiency program makes shelter a leadership qualities for a new generation platform for self-sufficiency by tying public of leaders. To implement youth initiatives, and Indian housing development assistance the Department provides funding under the and Section 8 rental vouchers and certificates Youth Sports Program. Other Federal initia­ to comprehensive services, such as child tives that aid youth and their families include care, education, and job training. child care, Head Start, training, job opportuni­ ties, and a wider choice in education. Coupling hOllsing and homeownership with access to jobs and income is the critical This book showcases the achievements link for empowering the poor. New job of citizens who have reclaimed their opportunities, entrepreneurship, and neighborhoods and widened their vision ownership can help change the incentive of the world. It was no small task. Their structure at work in the poverty areas to accomplishments will serve to light our way make aboveground capitalism more and provide direction on the tasks ahead as rewarding than illicit capitalism in drug we work together to make neighborhoods activities. drug free. Empowering the poor also means assuring them of a decent and safe living environment. Congress has appropriated modernization --M- funds that will help upgrade public housing Jack Kemp communities nationwide. Funds have been Secretary of Housing and Urban Development iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword ....................................................................................................................... iii Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 Focus on Security Chicago, Illinois: Operation Clean Sweep .................................................................. .4 Mobile, Alabama: Crime Interdiction Through Community Policing ....................... 14 Ocala, Florida: Community Policing .......................................................................... 24 San Francisco Bay Area, California: A Computerized System for Resident Screening ................................................................................................. 32 Focus on Youth Boston, Massachusetts: Wentworth Institute and the Mentor Program .................... 42 Fort Myers, Florida: STARS Program and Michigan Court Initiatives ...................... .50 Greenville, South Carolina: Action in the Arts .......................................................... .58 Omaha, Nebraska: Drug Elimination and Education Strategies ............................... 66 Richmond, Virginia: "Youth in Action" ....................................................................... 74 Augusta, Georgia: The Way Out ................................................................................. 82 Multifaceted Approaches Atlanta, Georgia: Operation Dignity .......................................................................... 92 New Haven, Connecticut: Tenants Against Drugs Dammit!! ................................... 100 Norfolk, Virginia: We Care Program ......................................................................... 108 New Orleans, Louisiana: Desire Drug Treatment Clinic ......................................... 118 Stories in Brief Akron, Ohio: Edgewood's Three-Faceted Program ................................................. 128 Buffalo, New York: Art Against Abuse ..................................................................... 130 Santa Barbara, California: Youth Bike Patrol ........................................................... 132 Wilmington, Delaware: Community Policing .......................................................... 134 v INTRODUCTION his is a book about people reclaiming their neighborhoods. It shows how public housing residents are freeing themselves, their families, and their communities from the tyranny of drugs. The individuals and groups .involved in the drug-elimination initiatives featured here agree that the task is not easy, " but they resoundingly affirm that the results are worth the struggle. ~'.!., Indeed, the overriding theme of these case histories is that resident involvement, determination, and commitment are essential in preventing or eliminating drug abuse and related crime in public housing communities. When public housing youth and their parents realize that they can and must participate in the process, lasting success is possible. With the assistance of a well-conceived, proactive response, even the most drug-inflicted community can move toward livability and opportunity. Other important lessons recur throughout the case histories. One is that the drug problem must be viewed from a comprehensive perspective so that causes as well as symptoms are addressed. Local plans must first curb street violence and support drug and crime prevention. They must also include efforts at community revitalization through strategies to create