By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published July 25, 2003
Dan Cosby knows firsthand that the middle and upper-middle class community of Bloomingdale isn't immune to teen drug use and the crime problems that come with it.
Eight years ago, his son became addicted to cocaine and dropped out of Bloomingdale High during his sophomore year.
Today, drug problems and related crimes still plague parts of Bloomingdale, where some residents complain to authorities that they're tired of living next door to young drug dealers and users.
"The kids here have money and time," said Cosby, now a substance abuse counselor with a support group for families facing similar struggles. "Drug dealers know that, so the same thing that happened in the inner-city areas is happening in our suburbs now."
Armed with $40,000 in grants, Cosby and other members of the Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance are adopting a national drug prevention model to help Bloomingdale, Seminole Heights and Town "N Country devise their own unique battle plans against delinquency, substance abuse and other teen problems.
To get started with the Communities That Care program, they need 30 volunteers - 10 from each community - who can dedicate about six months to the effort.
Ideally, the volunteers will represent a cross-section of the communities: teachers, parents, business owners, law enforcement officers.
The volunteers will undergo several hours of training before starting their work, which includes gathering crime and drug trend data from various sources and tracking school trends through student surveys conducted on campus.
"We want to demonstrate with the data, that it doesn't really matter where you live," said longtime Brandon resident Kay M. Doughty, a member of the Alliance and head of the local Communities That Care initiative. "Even a middle or upper-middle place like Bloomingdale has these issues."
Bloomingdale, Seminole Heights and Town "N Country were chosen because they offer a diverse representation of Hillsborough, yet all have active residents concerned about drug use among their youth populations.
Ultimately, the alliance hopes to expand the program throughout Hillsborough. But for now, they'll use the three communities' drug prevention plans to identify necessary resources and the available grants to pay for them.
Communities That Care is championed by former Pennsylvania first lady Michelle Ridge, wife to Homeland Security leader Tom Ridge.
Since implementing the program, Pennsylvania has seen juvenile violent crime drop by more than 15 percent over four years. Over its 14-year history, more than 400 communities have used the program.
"So it's got a great track record," Cosby said. "We just need the community to take ownership of this, and we can get started."
The first training session for all three Communities that Care plans will be held from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 11 and all day Aug. 12, at the Comfort Inn on Busch Boulevard off Interstate 275. Additional sessions are Oct. 9 and Nov. 6. To volunteer with your community's drug prevention effort, call Kay Doughty at 980-3866 or send an e-mail to kayd@dacco.org
