CLERGY JOIN WAR ON DRUGS

Forum Slated In Saugus

SAUGUS -- The faith community has joined Saugus's fight against
teenage drug and alcohol abuse and related crimes.

The Saugus Clergy Association will hold a drug awareness forum at 7
tomorrow night at Belmonte Saugus Middle School on Dow Street to
brainstorm about how to curb excessive drug use, particularly heroin
and other opiates.

"We've done enough to raise awareness," said the Rev. Robert G.
Leroe, president of the clergy association and pastor of Cliftondale
Congregational Church. "Now we need to talk specifics and develop a
course of action."

After-school programs, neighborhood-watch groups, and training for
parents to spot signs of drug use are among the methods that clergy
members say they believe could decrease drug use among Saugus youth.
Other topics, including providing better support for youths and
identifying challenges facing parents, also will be discussed.

"As leaders of the faith community, we should have a voice in this,"
Leroe said. "We have to be part of the solution to what is clearly a
very big problem in Saugus."

In 2004, results of the American Drug and Alcohol Survey showed a
higher than average rate of use among Saugus youths, particularly in
grades 6 through 12. Forty-six percent of high school seniors and 43
percent of juniors reported having been drunk in the month before
taking the survey, compared with a national average of 31 percent.

The survey found 19 percent of the school's freshmen, 30 percent of
its sophomores, 30 percent of juniors, and 38 percent of seniors
reported having used marijuana in the month before; the national
average was 21 percent.

The survey did not measure use of heroin and prescription opiates
like OxyContin -- drugs now responsible for an average of two to
three overdoses each week in town, and a rash of crimes like armed
robbery, Saugus police said.

"They want quick, fast cash, and armed robbery is a way to do it,"
said Lieutenant Michael Annese, the Saugus police spokesman. "All
the reports I read point to those crimes being linked to the drug
problem we have."

The clergy association was invited to join the drug fight by Greg
Nickolas, the town's director of youth and recreation. He is also a
member of Saugus Speaks Out, a town committee that has been trying
to raise awareness about the drug issue since the survey
results were released.

The committee sponsored community forums and special programs,
including one on parenting tips offered by Essex District Attorney
Jonathan W. Blodgett. But Nickolas said too few Saugus parents paid
attention. "We were striking out," he said. "We had very minimal
attendance at events. We were working with businesses, schools and
police, and we were still coming up short."

On his own, Nickolas asked the faith community to help. In the fall,
he asked to speak about the drug problem in Saugus during religious
services. "I was running around like a roadside prophet," Nickolas
said. "Everybody was great about letting me speak. And now the
clergy is taking this very seriously."

In January, the clergy association's first forum drew more than 200
people to Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. Nickolas is hoping for
an even better turnout tomorrow at the middle school.

"People can no longer be complacent about this," he said. "And with
the clergy behind us, we hope people will finally listen."