SOUTH SIDERS RALLY FOR DRUG-, VIOLENCE-FREE NEIGHBORHOOD

Helena Davis got out of school for part of this afternoon for "Hands Across
Wells/Madden," an event that sought to create a human chain around the Ida
B. Wells and Madden Park housing projects.

To the 11-year-old, the event meant a lot more than a few minutes out of
class at Donaghue Elementary School, one of five schools participating in
today's event.

"This demonstration is real important," said Helena, who lives in Madden
Park. Rival gangs and the drug trade make it risky for her to visit her
best friend, who lives at Wells, she said, adding, "We could get shot or
something like that."

Strong anti-drug and anti-violence messages were the basis for "Hands
Across Wells/Madden," part of the Red Ribbon Week national campaign.
Assisted by Chicago police and the Chicago Housing Authority, organizers
set up at 11 street corners in the South Side neighborhood to sing, chant
slogans and hand out red ribbons.

Fewer people showed up for this year's Red Ribbon Day -- a rainy autumn
day, compared to a beautiful sunny day last year, organizers said.
Certainly, there weren't enough people to encircle the neighborhood.

Police Sgt. Lolita Parham, who coordinates community policing in public
housing citywide, had hoped more residents would have participated. But as
she and other officers showed up, young men who had been hanging out on the
street drifted indoors.

"We will show them that we are reclaiming the neighborhood for the
children," Parham said.

Some 450 youngsters from Donaghue School chanted anti-drug slogans at the
tops of their young lungs, and sang "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" and "We
Shall Overcome."

Helena Davis firmly believed the demonstration would make a difference. "If
we put hope on this ground," she said, "some day, something better will
happen."

That message bears repeating, according to organizer Bernard Clark, who
works at the Centers for New Horizons. "It's (about) safe, healthy,
communities," he said. "Drugs are a byproduct of a lack of hope."

For a short time today, drug traffic was halted at the corner of Pershing
Road and King Drive, where "people line up like at a grocery store to buy,"
said Caneal Rule, of the Mid South Planning and Development Commission.
Today, Rule handed out red ribbons on that corner.

No one at the demonstration believed one day's effort would solve the drug
problem. But, organizers pointed out they're in the community all the time,
stumping for zero drug tolerance, offering counseling and helping with
literacy, parenting skills, job and housing issues.

"It's not just a demonstration. We do this as a way to let the community
know we're here and we're not going away," Clark said. He added that he
also wants to "let those so-called bad guys know that there's another way
to live."