NCJ Number
129343
Journal
Clearinghouse Review Volume: 24 Issue: 5 Dated: special issue (1990) Pages: 448-451
Date Published
1990
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Public housing tenants and Connecticut's Greenwich Housing Authority (GHA) have developed a communitywide strategy to deal with drug sales on public housing property.
Abstract
GHA manages 832 housing units comprising 5 family and 4 senior developments as well as 158 certificate program units. In 1987, a 17-year-old resident was shot in a drug-related incident, and GHA responded by proposing a tough eviction policy. Tenants reacted to GHA's proposal with a request for joint efforts to develop an effective approach to drug sales. The Connecticut Department of Housing appointed a Drug-Free Public Housing Task Force that included police chiefs, drug and alcohol abuse program directors, tenant leaders, public housing authorities, Federal and local housing representatives, community service providers, and lawyers. The task force's primary recommendation was that tenants should participate in public housing management. The communitywide coalition in Greenwich developed a plan to improve lighting, increase security, and evict those who sell or facilitate the sale of drugs in public housing projects. The plan also includes measures designed to keep children out of trouble by encouraging participation in sports and to provide computer training classes for both teenagers and adults. Fostering the growth of active tenant associations and a tenant union is a principal feature of the plan, and continued resident involvement is critical to the plan's success. Active involvement of Greenwich's social service agencies has been part of the antidrug strategy since the first tenant meeting in 1988. 4 endnotes