750 GO HAND IN HAND TO FIGHT DRUGS

CHA Sites Part Of National Event

Residents of the Ida B. Wells and Madden Park public housing
developments joined hands Monday to remember a fallen soldier of the
war on drugs and to call attention to wounds drug dealing and violence
inflict on neighborhoods like theirs.

Gathering in groups around their sprawling South Side neighborhood,
750 residents chanted anti-drug and anti-violence slogans, and wore
red ribbons for the event, dubbed "Hands Across Wells/Madden." It was
part of Red Ribbon Week, a national anti-drug campaign established in
honor of Enrique Camerana, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
agent killed in the line of duty in 1985.

In one of the groups was Helena Davis, 11, a pupil at Donaghue
Elementary. Helena, who lives at Madden Park, has a close friend who
lives at Wells. Rival gangs and the drug trade make it risky for the
two friends to get together.

"We could get shot or something like that," Helena said. "This
demonstration is real important."

Helena and her classmates wore red ribbons, which symbolize zero
tolerance for drugs and violence. Organizers shouted upbeat phrases
such as "No drugs, more hugs" and "Put down the gun and have some fun."

Sgt. Lolita Parham , who coordinates community policing in public
housing citywide, hoped more locals would participate. But as she and
half a dozen or so other officers showed up to participate, a number
of young men who had been hanging out on the street drifted indoors.

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

Davis said she firmly believed that the demonstration would make a
difference.

"If we put hope on this ground," the 11-year-old said, "some day
something better will happen."

That message bears repeating, said Bernard Clark, who works at the
Centers for New Horizons, a service group that has an office at the
Wells complex. "It's (about) safe, healthy, communities. Drugs are a
byproduct of a lack of hope."

For a short time Monday, the drug traffic at one intersection was
halted. Normally at the corner of King Drive and Pershing Road "people
line up like at a grocery store to buy," said Caneal Rule, who handed
out red ribbons on that corner.

No one at the demonstration believed that one day's effort would solve
the drug problem. But, organizers said, this isn't a cause-of-the-
week. Sponsoring organizations are in the community all the time,
stumping for zero drug tolerance and offering counseling and help with
literacy, parenting skills, job searches and housing.

"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.