Thursday, April 21, 2005

Shapiro Praises CLEAN

By Stephanie M. Mangino
The Winchester Star

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The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy likes what it sees when it looks at CLEAN Inc.

The Winchester-based coalition dedicated to preventing substance and alcohol abuse among youth and families heard that from the proverbial horses’ mouth on Wednesday evening.

Ken Shapiro, a policy analyst with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, speaks at the annual meeting of CLEAN Inc. Wednesday at the Travelodge of Winchester.
(Photo by Ginger Perry)

Ken Shapiro, a policy analyst in the office of the “drug czar,” said CLEAN truly understands how to work together as a community against substance abuse.

“You totally get it,” he said. “We’re really impressed ... with the work that’s going on here.”

CLEAN is one of 714 groups nationwide receiving grants directly from the federal government through the $80 million Drug Free Communities Support Project.

Shapiro works with that program, and he said he feels community coalitions are a major reason why there’s been a 17 percent drop in national youth drug use in the past three years.

Successful coalitions provide the Drug Control Policy Office with the data that forms such numbers, he said. The coalitions also must include representatives from multiple sectors of the community, which he could easily see among those attending CLEAN’s annual meeting at the Travelodge of Winchester.

“Everybody’s in here,” he said as he pointed out students, law enforcement officers, court personnel, and educators.

A good coalition also realizes that local problems require local solutions, and that no one sector can do all the work by itself.

Actually, Shapiro said there about 36 guiding principles of successful coalitions, and when he reviewed the list with CLEAN members, he noted the group already embodies every principle.

“You are exactly what we are trying to get 714 coalitions to be,” he said.

The organization distributed its annual report at the meeting and detailed a busy 2004, in which the group expanded its Community Information and Resource Line, produced the “Power of Parents Resource Guide,” updated its Web site, expanded its Youth Advisory Council, and served more than 100 families and youth with educational classes.

Phoebe West, who led the group as its interim director for about a year, served CLEAN well, said Cynthia Rawlinson, chairwoman of the group’s executive committee.

West held together an incredibly successful year, she said.

Additionally, CLEAN officially welcomed its new executive director, Ciro Grassi, at the meeting.

Grassi said he’s seen the effects of substance abuse on friends and family, and he promised a push toward more fund raising so the group can offer even more services to the community.