September 21, 1999
Mayor Brings Cabinet Officials on Walk with Community Leaders Through Drug Market
Mayor Anthony A. Williams brought his agency directors to walk through an open-air drug market in Southeast to call attention to the District's efforts to combat the intolerable drug infestation that is devastating many of the city's neighborhoods. The walk through, which also involved councilmembers and community leaders, began in the Forrester and Galveston neighborhood and continued to the neighboring Halley Terrace, where drug activity has apparently shifted as a result of the improvements made in Forrester and Galveston. "I believe our approach to drugs has to be sustained over time; it has to be a coordinated effort that involves all of our agenciesūnot just the police," said Mayor Williams. "We must go to the root of the problem; and most importantly, it has to engage the community." The Mayor has developed an approach that combines enforcement, prevention and treatment. Recognizing that no single solution can deal with the multifaceted challenge of drug abuse, the Mayor is embarking on a long-term, holistic effort to solve the city's drug problem. "When I began my efforts to combat the drug trade, we identified six open-air drug markets," said Mayor Williams. "We are concentrating on these areas first with an approach involving housing inspectors, job training programs, public works crews, community policing and community prosecutors, drug treatment, and a host of other services."
Following the walk, the Mayor discussed his intensive multi-agency effort in combating drug markets by holding agency directors accountable for continued progress in Halley Terrace and other areas across the city, such as adding more street lights or stepping up code enforcement to evict known drug dealers. "We are going to be visiting these drug markets again and again, until the dealers get the message that it's time to get another line of work," said the Mayor. "With the community's help, we will make it as difficult as possible for drug dealers to steal more young lives to the drug trade."
