SOUTH SUMTER RECEIVES FEDERAL GRANT TO FIGHT DRUGS

Organization Set To Tackle Problem At Grassroots Level

Michael Walker talks to members of the South Sumter Citizens' Committee and
members of law enforcement about ways to reclaim a community from drugs and
crime. Walker spoke to the group on Thursday night at M.H. Newton Family
Life Enrichment Center.

The South Sumter Citizens' Committee war against drugs has received a boost
both emotionally and financially.

Working together with the Clemson University Extension Service, the
citizens' committee has been awarded a $99,425 federal grant from the Drug
Free Communities Partnership, an office co-founded by the Department of
Justice and the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The grant is refundable for up to the next five years as long as the group
shows it is achieving its goals, said Clemson Extension Agent Barbara
Brown. That would make it possible for the group to have nearly a
half-million dollars to work with through the year 2006.

"We're really excited about the grant," said Regina McBride, chairwoman of
the committee. "We hope it will make a big impact on the community. We've
all been working together."

Part of the new grant will go to create a full-time executive director's
position for the residents' committee, while a large portion of the funds
will be used to contract local agencies to work with the community through
various programs, as well as pay for space at the South Sumter Resource
Center on Manning Avenue.

One of the main goals of the committee is to use the grant to establish a
community outreach position in which the person would work the streets of
South Sumter.

"The person actually walks the streets and talks to people hanging out on
the streets that presumably could be involved with drug using or dealing,"
Brown said.

Focusing on at-risk children, the person in the new position would then try
to get residents involved in some type of program like job- skills training.

"It actually takes someone face-to-face doing that and finding people,"
Brown said, to get people off the street and involved in something of
interest that can have a positive influence.

About 10,500 people live in the South Sumter area, where, according to the
grant proposal, the average household income is $13,231 and 40 percent of
the children live in poverty.

About 16.4 percent of the predominantly black population is also unemployed.

Organizers have also recognized that to have the money to attack an issue
is one thing, but to have people motivated to help the community is yet
another.

So, on Thursday, the citizens' committee brought in Michael Walker,
executive director of the Partnership for a Safer Cleveland, to speak with
its members at the M.H. Newton Family Life Enrichment Center.

A former child gang member while living in the Cabrini-Green area of
Chicago, a housing project on the south side of the city known for its
violence, gangs, drugs and poverty.

The 46-year-old Walker said he was able to change his life because of the
care and values instilled in him by his grandparents, as well as
experiencing a horrible tragedy.

Recalling a story of watching a childhood friend being shot to death during
a drive-by shooting, the Ohio State University alumnus and Rose Bowl
participant told the crowd that since then he has dedicated his work to his
friend's memory.

Now, he not only runs the Cleveland organization, but speaks with other
groups around the country, trying to help them with their child outreach
programs.

"What you're doing here is a lot of work, but it makes a difference,"
Walker said to the audience.

For Walker, the key to making a difference in the life of children starts
with communication and respect.

"You can't build a foundation without first showing respect," Walker said.
"Kids will show you a lot of things when you show them respect."

After being asked how local residents are to compete against rap artists
who envelop themselves with an image of living in a high- rolling
environment of money, drugs and sex, Walker said, "You've got to give them
examples of how money doesn't matter and you can have a good time."

A family member can have far more influence than a rapper, Walker said,
especially when they take the time to talk with the children.

"It's what you see every day that really matters."