Families called a valuable resource in fighting drug abuse
So says a 30-year criminal justice reform activist who was in Utah recently touting the family as an untouched natural resource in the fight against drug abuse.
In Utah, a state where families are held up as the pillar of society, incarceration first and foremost is an approach to the drug problem that runs counter to the state's core strength, Carol Shapiro told the Deseret News before speaking Monday afternoon to members of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s Cabinet. Earlier in the day, she spoke to juvenile court and social service leaders in Utah.
"The road has been to demonize," said Shapiro, founder and president of Family Justice. "But we all have to keep in mind what the effect of that is on families. We all have someone or know someone who has a loved one who is in trouble. We all know the positive impact that a loved one can have on us, no matter what kind of problem we might be dealing with."
The problem in dealing with substance abuse is the approach that heavily favors imprisoning people when their only crime is using or possession. In the process, "we've created a huge business complex that ties local budgets to its capacity to create revenue from preying mostly on the poor — which are treated badly on all fronts in society — and other nonconformers."
"Family members do not stop loving each other when struggling with things that get them into trouble, like addiction and mental illness," she said. "And their social networks are free, so it makes a lot of sense to figure out how to tap their strength."
Her organization partners with government, families and the neighborhoods to which they are connected to break cycles of involvement in the criminal justice system.
"I like to say we are the Aretha Franklin model," Shapiro said. "Often, poor families in the criminal justice system are not respected. Families are experts in their own lives, so we need to listen to them and respect them, as well as everyone else in the system and neighborhoods, parole, police and probation officers and others."
Family Justice will launch a nationwide membership network to provide larger-scale Internet support for organizations and individuals interested and invested in the Bodega Model. Shapiro would also like to involve Family Justice internationally, bringing her model to bear on issues of political prisoners and re-entering prisoners in countries such as Rwanda and South Africa.
Recent comments
Families aren't the only ones lied to, manipulated and used by...
Health Care Provider | Aug. 11, 2008 at 12:05 p.m.
I'm the mother of a large, mostly successful, LDS family. BUT...
Mother | Aug. 4, 2008 at 3:11 p.m.
I think all the previous comments fail to really see the purpose...
Anonymous | Aug. 4, 2008 at 11:39 a.m.
