Communities That Care

Posted on November 2, 2009

Five Town CTC Coalition Meeting A Success!

More than 40 people from different sectors of the Five Town Community convened at The Teen Center in Camden for the fall ’09 Five Town Communities That Care Coalition meeting.  Attendees were treated to a wonderful meal prepared by Chef Mark Hannibal’s students at the Waldo County Technical Center while hearing from Mr. Clay Yeager about the importance of the Coalition’s local work in a national context.  Mr. Yeager congratulated the community on its successes to date, and shared some national statistics to help more people to understand what a huge public health issue juvenile delinquency and substance abuse really are.

Some of the information Mr. Yeager shared was especially striking.  As a nation, the cost of doing nothing is high.  Estimates range from $1.7 to $2.3 million taxpayer savings to keep ONE high risk youth in school and crime and drug free (Mark Cohen et. al. Vanderbilt University,1999).  Unfortunately, it is estimated that Federal and state governments spend 60 times more to clean up the devastation of drug abuse and addiction on children as they do on prevention and treatment (National Center on Substance Abuse and Addiction, ‘Shoveling it Up II’, 2009).

Mr. Yeager also pointed out that the Communities That Care system being used by the Coalition in Appleton, Camden, Hope, Lincolnville and Rockport has been proven to reduce delinquency in addition to reducing substance use.  This is important because according to the Pew Charitable Trust (2007 Annual Report), Maine is one of many states struggling with a growing prison population.  In 1982 Maine had 1 out of every 167 citizens detained in a correctional facility.  In 2007, that number had risen to 1 out of every 81 citizens.

Following Mr. Yeager’s presentation, Five Town CTC Board Chair Peter Russell presented Aldermere Farm and Camden Police Chief Phil Roberts with Youth Advocate awards.  Aldermere Farm’s Program Director Sarah Post accepted the award on behalf of Aldermere Farm and Camden Police Department’s Lt. Randy Gagne accepted on behalf of Chief Roberts.

During the last portion of the meeting, attendees shared upcoming events and news from related to the Coalition’s common goals.

For more information, contact Dalene Dutton at (207) 236-9800 or dalene@fivetownctc.org.

See our calendar page for a calendar view of events, meetings, etc.