MWCC STAFFERS BACKING NEWSPAPER'S CALL TO ESTABLISH COMMUNITY COALITION
AGAINST DRUGS

The Sentinel & Enterprise's 10-part series "Decades of Addiction" serves as
a wake-up call for all members of the community to join together to find
solutions to the multiple challenges created by illicit drug trafficking
and addiction. Some of the infrastructure to meet this challenge already
exists. As the state and federal government continue to disinvest in social
programs, the nonprofit sector has become more important in the effort to
rebuild the social fabric of our communities.

Often, the good work of these groups doesn't make the front-page headlines.
Local nonprofits are working on the frontlines to address some of the
underlying causes of drug abuse -- poverty, neglect, racism,
disenfranchisement and poor education.

From the Gardner Visiting Nursing Association to Our Father's House to the
LUK Crisis Center, these people work diligently to tackle social ills
head-on, often under the radar screen.

Without this array of nonprofit agencies, our communities would be in a
worse position -- crime rates would be higher, drug addiction more
prevalent and hope more distant.

But they cannot do it alone. The support of community members --
volunteers, contributors and leadership -- strengthens nonprofits and our
community as a whole. In recognition of the reality that local agencies are
shouldering a great burden, the Community Foundation of North Central
Massachusetts and Mount Wachusett Community College worked with the
nonprofit sector to create the Institute for Nonprofit Development.

The Institute supports the nonprofit sector to build the capacity needed to
meet the many challenges facing our communities.

We welcome the Sentinel & Enterprise's call to create a coalition of
community leaders to reverse the negative impacts drugs have on the area.
The work of the area's nonprofits, and their efforts to be more effective
and cohesive, should serve as an example that together we can make our
communities better places to live, work and thrive.

Amy Casavina Hall director of civic engagement and outreach Joanne Foster
coordinator, Institute for Nonprofit Development Mount Wachusett Community
College, Gardner