BREAK THE CYCLE

I grew up in a neighborhood wracked by drugs and violence. Most of my
friends were pulled into a spiral of addiction and crime, and for years no
one did anything to help them. Even today, most politicians are too afraid
to take on such a complex problem. But Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
has addressed the challenge head on. She was not intimidated by the odds,
nor was she chained to old ways of thinking. The result is Break the Cycle,
a promising approach to a problem left neglected for decades.

For that reason, I was troubled by the criticism of Break the Cycle in the
Nov. 10 Metro article "Md. Probation Program Is Failing Expectations."

Clearly, the program has not achieved its full potential. But Break the
Cycle is helping people turn their lives around, and the proof can be found
in the transformation of neighborhoods like the one in which I was raised.

Elijah E. Cummings, U.S. Representative (D-Md.), Washington