NCJ Number
161433
Date Published
1995
Length
37 pages
Annotation
This report identifies some of the key issues involved in making community development work with drugs prevention.
Abstract
The Drugs Prevention Initiative (DPI) is a community-based strategy consisting of 20 local teams. Along with their local work, the teams were members of national Theme Management Groups designed to identify good practice. The report examines the relevance of community development to drugs prevention and explores links between the two. Local Drugs Prevention Teams (LDPTs) supported community development through five main strategies: (1) resourcing and supporting neighborhood-based practitioners; (2) using existing community networks; (3) creating new networks; (4) initiating training; and (5) resourcing action-research. In order to get to know and understand communities and establish trust through involvement with them, drug prevention workers should, inter alia: (1) concentrate resources in selected neighborhoods; (2) work closely with other community workers; (3) combine support for community development with provision of information on drugs and drugs misuse; and (4) frame drugs prevention strategies within the context of a community's agenda and develop the strategies as an integrated package. References, appendix.