MAYOR GIULIANI ADDRESSES CONGREGATION AT BROOKLYN CHURCH ABOUT HIS PLAN TO REDUCE DRUG ABUSE IN NEW YORK CITY
Asks Pastor & Members Of Berean Missionary Baptist Church To Join Effort To Fight The Dangers Of Substance Abuse
Declaring that drug abuse "tears our families and communities apart, and robs us of our independence and freedom," Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani this morning addressed members of the Berean Missionary Baptist Church in Brooklyn and asked for their help and support for his initiative to dramatically reduce substance abuse in New York City over the next four years.
The Mayor was invited to address the church congregation by the Pastor, Rev. Dr. Arlee Griffin, Jr. During his visit to the Church, the Mayor invited Pastor Griffin to become part of the Clergy Anti-Drug Abuse Forum that is a key part of the Mayor's initiative. The Forum, which will bring together leading members of the City's diverse religious communities within three months, will draft an anti-drug strategic action plan that will be implemented with the help of individuals, families, congregations and communities throughout the City.
"As individuals and as a society, drug abuse is one of the greatest challenges we face," the Mayor said. "It tears families and communities apart, robs us of our independence and freedom, and ultimately destroys the lives God gave us.
"Seventy to eighty percent of those arrested in New York City each year test positive for drug use. At least 71 percent of children in foster care in our City alone have at least one parent who was a substance abuser. Substance abuse and addiction costs New York City more than $20 billion every year.
"In order to confront this problem, we need every New Yorker to be accountable for their own lives. That means educating children, treating addicts and arresting criminals. Education, treatment and law enforcement are the three components of our plan to lead New York City to self-sufficiency, away from dependence and addiction. It's a plan that uses all our resources as a City and calls upon each of us to take responsibility.
"Our efforts over the last four years in reducing crime, creating new jobs, improving the quality of life in our neighborhoods, and reducing welfare dependency, have proven that when people focus, when they set their minds to achieve a goal, and think creatively about how to reach that goal, there's no limit to what we can do. God made us with incredible potential. As individuals, and together as a City, we have a responsibility, and a duty, to seize it.
"We have had faith as a City, and our accomplishments are the best possible argument against drug abuse. Drugs present people with a false promise, a promise of escape. But real change comes only from hard work, and hard work comes from true faith.
"We have succeeded as a City precisely because we refuse to escape from reality. There are no quick fixes, there is only hard work. As members of the Berean Missionary Baptist Church, you know this because of your own history as a religious institution. Since August 1850, under pastor after pastor, you have blossomed and grown into a stronger and stronger union of people. You didn't do this by escaping reality. We need everyone in New York City to wake up and confront the dangers of substance abuse," the Mayor concluded.
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