Scientologists Help Stockton Combat Crime/Drugs
Church of Scientology Mission of Stockton and Church of Scientology Sacramento team up with Stockton clergy and youth group mentors to lower the northern California city’s crime rate by reducing drug abuse.
Volunteers from the Church of Scientology Mission of Stockton and the Church of Scientology of Sacramento conducted a seminar November 9, 2013.
Volunteers from the Church of Scientology Mission of Stockton and the Church of Scientology of Sacramento have joined forces with community and religious leaders to combat drug abuse and drug-related crime. They conducted a seminar on November 9 to train 71 mentors representing Stockton’s 13 Boys and Girls Clubs and several local ministers on the Truth About Drugs, the drug education and prevention initiative the Church supports.
There is a direct link between crime and drugs. Nearly a third of those serving time in California’s prisons were arrested for drug possession or sales. In a sampling of adult males arrested for misdemeanors and felonies in Sacramento and four other major U.S. cities, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) found more than half tested positive for at least one illegal drug at time of arrest.
Crime is an issue affecting Stockton residents on a very real and personal level. Less than a month before the last mayoral election, Forbes Magazine had ranked Stockton as the eighth most dangerous city in America. The urgency of this situation prompted Stockton voters to back the new mayor’s ballot measure this November to generate some $28 million annually for law enforcement by raising the city’s sales tax.
In support of these efforts to make the city safe, volunteers from local Scientology Churches are rallying community leaders to help reduce crime by lowering drug abuse.
At the Stockton Mayor’s Clergy Breakfast in October, the Executive Director of the Church of Scientology Mission of Stockton and Director of Special Affairs of the Church of Scientology of Sacramento introduced local ministers to the Truth About Drugs.
Clergy and mentors attending the November 9 training session very helpful.
“Society is starting to realize that we need to combat problems with the truth instead of ‘just say no,’” said one of the mentors. “Our kids need to be informed of their risks and dangers before having to experience it for themselves.”
“Working with seventh graders, I have firsthand hard experience with tween curiosity about drugs,” said another. “Kids want and need reasons to turn their backs on drugs.”
Another learned that “many people around the world use drugs as a way to escape their issues rather that deal with them.” She plans to use what she learned from the training “to educate people I know who are on the verge of drug abuse, and allow them to see the long-term effects.”
Scientologists on five continents work in their communities throughout the year to empower others with the truth about drugs. The Church and its members are dedicated to eradicating drug abuse through education.
It has been conclusively proven that when young people are provided with the truth about drugs—factual information on what drugs are and what they do—usage rates drop commensurately.
The Church of Scientology supports The Truth About Drugs initiative, one of the world’s largest nongovernmental drug education and prevention campaigns.
The Church of Scientology has published a brochure, Scientology: How We Help—The Truth About Drugs, Creating a Drug-Free World, to meet requests for more information about the drug education and prevention initiative it supports. To learn more or read the brochure, visit the Scientology website.
SOURCE: ScientologyNews.org
by Robert Adams
Press Contact: Karin Pouw
Phone: (323) 960-3500
Email: mediarelations@ChurchofScientology.net
Church of Scientology International
6331 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 1200
Los Angeles, CA 90028
Phone: 1-323-960-3500
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