Search Group Rallies to Push Campaign Against Drug Abuse

Nibbling berries and sipping wine, about 200 women--members of Orange County’s Search Foundation--gathered at a Newport Beach hotel Tuesday afternoon to declare war on drugs.

“We’re not going to take this anymore,” Search chairwoman Beverly Thompson-Coil said at the Hotel Meridien. “Children are dying, falling in the streets. They’re becoming brain-damaged and getting Parkinson’s disease. It’s the worst battle this country has ever faced.”

Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, one of the few men present at the meeting, read a resolution passed earlier in the day by the Board of Supervisors proclaiming September as Drug Avoidance Month in Orange County.

“We know the problem of drug abuse hasn’t and won’t go away until citizens like you stand up and fight for a drug-free society,” Riley said. The intent of the resolution is to publicize the activities of Search and other community organizations fighting drug abuse, he said.

Day of Mourning

In addition, Gloria Schick, one of the foundation’s directors, declared Sept. 19 a day of mourning for those who have died as a result of drug use. The Search Foundation is encouraging Orange County residents to dress completely in black or to wear black arm bands Sept. 19.

Part of the battle plan in the crusade against drugs is to encourage people to report instances of drug abuse to a school principal, police department or employer, Schick said.

The ceremony coincided with national attention that has been focused on Deanna Young, the 13-year-old Tustin girl who turned in her parents to local police for allegedly using drugs. Thompson-Coil defended the need for people to report drug abuse.

The Search Foundation was founded on Valentine’s Day this year to educate young people and their parents about drugs. It is made up of about 200 volunteers.

A retired commercial decorator, Thompson-Coil said she had been encouraged to start an anti-drug organization by people she knew, including Paul Newman and Art Linkletter.

“I always said, ‘When I retire, that’s when I’ll do it.’ Doesn’t that sound like the excuse of all time?” Thompson-Coil said.

It was after her retirement last year that Thompson-Coil and a few friends started the Search Foundation.

Seeks Funds for Film

The foundation’s immediate goal is to raise money to produce and distribute a short anti-drug film, “Searching for the Light,” which Search intends to distribute at no charge to school districts nationwide.

In the first six months of its existence, Search has raised $100,000, nearly half the production cost of the film. Most of the money came from a gala social event in July, “A Night with Gershwin,” which raised about $80,000, Thompson-Coil said.

Arnold Shapiro, who produced “Scared Straight,” a film showing juvenile delinquents the harsh realities of prison life, has agreed to produce “Searching.” Moreover, his production company is donating about $125,000 toward the production of the film, a foundation spokeswoman said.

But Search still needs to raise $4.6 million to distribute the movie, Thompson-Coil said.