Accomplishments & Planning Ahead
Fundraising:
We've had several fund raisers, selling homemade cakes, a concession stand at the Citizens Forum that did very well, blue jean day at a local school with teachers paying fees to CAM. There have been several private donations. We are planning a motorcycle ride and a basketball tournament in the spring with proceeds going to CAM.
Other Activities:
We have purchased a projector and speakers to present programs to local civic and business organizations as well as the general public. Some of our members have been working on power point presentations and taping interviews with local drug abuse experts and recovering drug addicts. Community education is one of our top priorities.
We have a group of recovering drug addicts that share their story at local functions and churches. We require at least one year of clean time before allowing them to speak on behalf of CAM.
We are working toward getting each of the 150+ churches in Gordon County involved in teaching drug awareness to their congregations, especially the youth. We are also enlisting their support for our group.
We are fortunate to have a web site builder as a member of CAM and now have a wonderful Web Site at citizensagainstmeth.org. This web site has been an important link to the world. There is a volunteer form on the site that new people can complete and send in to become members of CAM. This is very helpful in knowing which committee to place newcomers on. Several local churches and other establishment have a link on their web site to ours.
We have a Citizens Against Meth pamphlet that was created to explain our goals and purposes as well the contact information. We have gathered information about rehabilitation facilities within a 100 mile radius of Gordon County to have available upon request. We are fortunate to have the owner of a printing company as a member of CAM that gives us free or low cost printing.
We also have pamphlets, booklets and flyers with information on drug addiction, what to look for, how the community can help, what the faith based community can do and so on. These are available at each public meeting. The Web Site to order this material is health.org. We give out information on local support groups such as NA, AA and Families Anonymous (a support group for the family.)
On the first Thursday of each month members of the Steering Committee attend the Social Service Interagency Luncheon to keep informed about the services available in our community. We will host the March, 2006 meeting - furnishing lunch and a short program about CAM.
On November 10th, 2005, six members of our group attended Conasauga Drug Court in Dalton to experience the process for ourselves. We all agreed that the program would benefit our community immensely. Our judicial circuit was in the process of selecting a fourth judge, after we returned from drug court we visited two of the candidates to talk with them about their views on obtaining a local drug court. We are finding that most people are open to meeting with our group.
On December 28th, 2005, members of the steering committee met with Superior Court Judge Shepherd Howell and discussed the possibility of implementing a drug court in our county. We didn't make a lot of progress but the meeting was informative for both sides.
2005 EVENTS
We set up a booth next to the Calhoun/Gordon County Drug Task Force during the annual Gordon County Fair for the week of September 13, thru September 17th, 2005. We gave out Citizens Against Meth pamphlets along with other flyers. We started the Drug Court Petition and gathered over 1500 signatures while working a few hours each night. This was a good opportunity for the public to learn about our organization. We had a large Citizens Against Methamphetamine banner donated to us and it helps tremendously with advertisement.
Our first public meeting was held at the Chamber of Commerce in September of 2005. The guest speakers were from Gordon County School System, the Conasauga Drug Court Coordinator, and a representative from Family and Children Services. This was an eye opening experience for all involved. September 2005, CAM was represented by a recovering addict. She gave her testimony to approximately 800 people at the Annual Baptist Association. Signatures for the petition was also gathered by the faith based and literature about CAM was distributed.
On September 29, 2005 several of our members attended the Georgia Meth Summit in Savannah, Georgia. It was an excellent opportunity to learn about what is being done in the state to eliminate this epidemic. It was well worth the time, money and effort it took to attend this event. We left with a much better understanding of how serious the Meth problem is.
Our second and largest project to date was a Citizens Forum at the Calhoun High School Auditorium featuring a panel of experts from Gordon County that included Domestic Violence; Family and Children Services; Psychologist; Internal Medicine Physician, Pediatrician; Emergency Management Administrator; Representative from Gordon County Jail; Local Drug Task Force; Conasauga Drug Court Judge and Coordinator and Recovering Meth Addicts. This was very successful with around 400 in attendance. We advertised in the local paper, radio stations, gave out flyers at local grocery stores and put them up all over town for a couple of months before this event.
We held an Anti-Meth Rally on November 21, 2005 at the Farm Bureau Building with praise music and the Savior Silhouettes Dancers as uplifting entertainment. The speakers were recovering Meth addicts, one of whom is the director of the local jail after care program, a parent of children on Meth, a local psychologist and a local pastor that has worked in an inpatient treatment facility for seven years.
We held an Orientation and Training event at the Chamber of Commerce on November 29, 2005 with a guest speaker that presented a power point presentation on the cause and effects of Methamphetamine, cooking Meth and the impact on the environment. This was especially informative for the new members.
We participated in two local Health Fairs giving out information on Methamphetamine and answering questions about support groups, what to look for if you suspect a loved one may be using and a list of treatment facilities.
On December 6th, 2005 we presented almost 3000 signatures for a drug court to the Gordon County Commissioners. Our Steering Committee's Chairperson explained CAM's goals and purposes. He also informed them of the advantages of having a drug court. The chairperson of the Rehab and Treatment Committee spoke about the need for an inpatient treatment facility in Gordon County. We received very positive results and our spokesperson was interviewed by a local radio station and a Dalton TV station that ran the segment on their news the following day.
Three of the Steering Committee met with the editor of the local newspaper and talked to him about starting a bi-weekly Meth Corner Column. Our column will start on December 14, 2005. We are allowed 500 words per article. One of the Steering Committee is a locally well know psychologist and he will be writing many of the articles. We also plan to have local experts write about the effects of drug abuse on the community.
On December 22nd, 2005 three members of the Steering Committee attend a Rotary Club meeting and presented a power point presentation as part of the program. It was very successful in informing the members about the seriousness of the Meth drug abuse problem in our community.