Sizing Up the Situation: Fighting Drugs in All Population Areas

Airs: July 17, 2008, 1-2pm EDT

Sponsor(s): CADCA, MCTFT

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No matter where you live, there are drugs in your community. They're in the smallest towns and the biggest cities. Resources to deal with the problems are scarce and are facing cuts everywhere, so are things really that different in the cities or the more rural areas? What role does geography play in the drug problem and what are the different challenges coalitions face in cities versus rural communities?

During this hour-long CADCA-TV broadcast, we'll sort out the myths and the realities. Do bigger cities have more resources? Does the small town feeling where everyone knows everyone make people more aware of drug use? Are rates of drug use higher in cities or towns? Do you always need money to fix problems?

We'll visit two Tennessee counties with vastly different populations and see how each is tackling the prescription drug problem. Are they using resources differently? Are they taking different approaches? See if there are there more differences or similarities and find out if coalitions need to work differently depending where they are.

We'll take a look at all this and more and see if population size really does matter.

Learning Objectives:

-         See if approaches should change based on population and location

-         Find out what role geography plays in the drug problem

-         Dispel some of the myths about city versus rural drug use

-         Learn what geo mapping is and how it can benefit coalitions 

Content Providers:

Alvin Brooks, President, Ad-Hoc Group Against Crime, Kansas City, MO

Alvin Brooks is the former Mayor Pro Tem and 6^th District at-Large City Council Person.  He was first elected in 1999 and re-elected in 2003.  In addition to serving as Mayor Pro Tem, Brooks chaired the Public Safety Committee, the Police Capital Improvements Oversight Committee and the Police Site Selection Committee, vice-chair of the Aviation Committee, and vice chair of the Finance and Audit Committee.  

In 1991, Brooks was selected as President of the Ad Hoc Group Against Crime, a broad based grassroots community organization he founded in Kansas City, Missouri, November 1977. He also spearheaded Project Neighborhood and the Move Up Coalition in Kansas City.

Brooks has been a consultant to many business executives in the area of diversity, minority and women matters. He has also been a motivational speaker and lecturer for governmental agencies and the private sector. He has conducted hundreds of seminars, workshop on the subject of cultural/racial diversity, religious tolerance and civil rights.  

Brooks has taught classes and conducted lectures and workshops on numerous subjects, including the criminal justice system, crime and violence prevention, community involvement and police-community relations.

Charles Reynolds, Charles Reynolds, Senior Public Health Analyst, United States Department of Health & Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention

Mr. Charles Reynolds, Senior Public Health Analyst is a national expert in using Geographic Information Software to answer complex questions relating to the delivery of health related services for the federal government.  With more than 20 years of experience working in the field of spatial analyses Mr. Reynolds is currently working for the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention within SAMHSA and is working to integrate GIS resources and products into needs assessment, evaluation, and reporting related to key initiatives, such as: HIV/AIDS, workplace, business, community coalition outreach efforts, health services facilities for substance abuse and mental health services, as well as related prevention activity providers nationally.

Shawnee Wright, Community Coordinator for Partners for Prevention in Allegany County

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