HAPPY TO SEE COUNTY OFFERING DRUG COURT

I'm happy to see Grayson County get a drug court. Drug use here has reached
epidemic proportions and the ramifications are far reaching.

I think it's fantastic that a local community leader cares enough to try to
bring about change and offer opportunity to those caught in something
bigger than they can handle alone. I hope they will look to people in local
recovery programs for input as they are at the front-line of this problem
on a daily basis.

Hopefully this will bring about other changes needed as well. There are
places for women and children to go to get off the streets, which serve a
very valuable service. They provide a safe, clean place for them to get
back on their feet again. I wish there was a similar place in this county
for men.

A noticeable part of our workforce and tax base are sitting in county,
state and federal jails. If a man becomes homeless in this county, he has
few options to get on his feet again. No money or job, the choices are
grim. The Salvation Army provides a meal a day, but he can only stay there
two days out of every 60.

There's a place in Denison that calls itself a shelter, but they charge $60
a week in rent. That's a tall order for people who have issues to face that
caused them to get to street level. Maybe the same leaders who had the
foresight to introduce the drug court might have some thoughts in this
direction.

Denison is wondering what to do with the old high school; hmmm...

My vision is to see a facility that houses males at street level as well as
those coming out of jails with nowhere to go, who want to change the
direction of their lives, willing to work a regular job, have
responsibilities where they live, save what they earn to become
self-supporting, law abiding member of our community.

Joe North

Denison