TOO CLOSE TO SCHOOLS

I am not indifferent to to the plight and health risks of intravenous
drug users, but sex and drugs are commodities at Cass Park due in part
to programs such as the Life Points vans. Life Points' presence at the
park helps to maintain a vicious economy whereby drug users are given
a secluded venue in which to shoot up, and the park becomes a haven
for drug dealers who use that seclusion to sell drugs to the clients
that Life Points serves.

There are two schools on Cass Park, both of which are drug-free school
zones, and Life Points' arrival coincides with the end of the school
day as well as after-school activities in the park. These schools use
the park as their playground, as well as for gym classes, marching
band and sports practices. There is the potential for real harm to the
students because, despite the fact that dirty syringes have become
commodities to be traded for clean ones, it is not uncommon to find
dirty needles on the sidewalks and in the grass surrounding Cass Park.

Life Points' vans may not promote drug use, but bringing prostitutes,
drug users, and drug dealers into direct contact with school kids is
wholly inappropriate, and if I were the parent of a student at either
of these schools, I would be outraged by the practice of distributing
needles to drug users on what amounts to school grounds.

There are many appropriate locations in the Cass Corridor for the
services that Life Points provides, but Cass Park is not one of them.

Jim Young

Detroit