This 5 page paper looks at Long Island City in Queens New YOrk which has a significant drug abuse problem. How it can be reduced through drug prevention efforts at the community level is discussed.
Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: RT13_SA604LIC.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
In fact, Long Island City is considered to be the borough with the highest amount of drug use and also has 12 percent of the AIDS cases (Pang). In 2005,
a needle exchange program was implemented (Pang). This is a positive step as in New York City, close to a quarter of AIDS victims are also IV drug users (Pang).
Of course, IV drug use and AIDS go hand in hand. However, what is important is to address the issue at the community level. A needle exchange program is a
start, but it seems that it is a case of too little, too late. The important thing to do is to prevent drug abuse in the first place. If an
organized effort were to be incorporated into this neighborhood, the outcome would likely be a place where there is a reduction in IV drug use as well as a reduction
in AIDS. Certainly, the prevention of drug abuse is worthy of a community organizing effort. Rubin and Rubin write: "Bringing about social change is a vital purpose of organizing..." (8).
Clearly, organizing to combat drug abuse will bring about social change. This is because when examining the many problems created by illicit drug use, there is good reason to
rail against the problem. How can a community organize against drug abuse? First, what is organization in this context? Si Kahn claims that organizing is simply having people work
together in order to accomplish things. In this context, it means that community members must meet to become proactive and take back their communities. It might mean that they fearlessly
call a hotline to turn into drug dealers or it might mean hiring private security companies to keep the neighborhood safe. Many people are afraid to do things like turn