Hubbard’s Booklet Used in War on Crime

Barbara Ayash and Mary Ferguson have recruited an army of converts in their war on crime.

The successes of these women, both grandmothers, are impressive, ranging from bonds formed with members of some of Los Angeles’ most notorious gangs to instituting an international competition for schoolchildren focusing on values.

Ayash, 57, and Ferguson, 47, say their battle against violence and drugs employs one key weapon--a booklet entitled “The Way to Happiness.”

While law-enforcement officials and politicians debate the merits of one tactic over another in efforts to attack crime, Ayash and Ferguson say the “Happiness” booklet is providing the answer.

‘Time-Honored Values’

“ ‘The Way to Happiness’ book (centers on) time-honored values such as honesty, trust, honor, love . . . being temperate, not using harmful drugs, being competent, being industrious (and) fulfilling obligations,” Ferguson said.

“It’s a practical know-how for dealing with many areas of life.”

It is also a book written by L. Ron Hubbard, the late father of the controversial Church of Scientology.

But Ayash, while acknowledging she is a follower of Hubbard’s tenets on life, is adamant when she says religion has nothing to do with her efforts.

“The Concerned Businessmen’s Assn. of America (the organization founded by Ayash and Ferguson to carry out their work) is a nonprofit group,” she said. “Hubbard’s an extremely popular author. Our use of his book is no different than selling it through a bookstore.

“It comes down to one basic truth, just like it says on the back of the book, ‘This may be the first non-religious moral code based wholly on common sense . . . (and) is not part of any religious doctrine.’ Otherwise, outside my membership in the church, there’s no connection with our work to Scientology.”

Marty Estrin, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Unified School District, said the “Happiness” booklet is not on the district’s list of recommended materials, but that some teachers may be using it as a supplement.

Ayash and Ferguson said they have enlisted the support of scores of troops in their campaign, mostly children who have distributing 2.5 million copies of the booklet in more than 3,000 schools across the United States.

The booklet has apparently been well-received with students adopting it as a personal guide to ethical behavior.

The association has also sponsored a series of contests, offering $5,000 first-place prizes for the schools whose students can conceive of ways to influence their peers in positive ways.

‘War Room Strategy’

The “Set a Good Example” competitions were developed during “war room strategy” after the association’s board of directors reviewed results of a student survey showing that children are more likely to heed their friends rather than authority figures.

In other words, the board decided, the best way to get drugs off school grounds is to get students themselves to exert positive peer pressure.

“It seemed (that) the most workable way to block the enemy assault was to utilize youth right on the front lines of our schools to divert their own friends away from harmful drugs and into constructive moral activity,” Ayash said in a recent interview.

Ayash, a Marina del Rey mother of four sons and three daughters, has dealt with drug abuse in several of her children’s lives.

She partly blames herself for their drug dependency, attributing it to a “Dr. Spock approach” to child-rearing. “I was too lax,” she explained. “We taught them to overcome those problems by teaching them sound moral guidelines.”

Ayash’s first foray involved a member of the 18th Street gang, one of the city’s most violent youth gangs.

It was in 1981, and despite a somewhat cynical reaction to her proposals from city officials, Ayash was introduced to a 22-year-old man she identified only as Kiki.

Kiki had a record of more than 50 arrests for drug possession, theft, assault and a host of other crimes.

His rehabilitation was achieved within three weeks, Ayash claimed.

‘Positive Center of Influence’

“We met with Kiki every day, believing that you can teach common sense values and leave people with the knowledge they can contribute,” she said. “Thereafter, he became a positive center of influence.

“We taught him to stop blaming society and look for ways to improve himself. Deep down, everyone knows that honesty and trust are valuable.”

Kiki’s influence soon worked its way over other members of his gang, and they undertook a graffiti removal project that earned them commendations from Mayor Tom Bradley.

Common sense morals, Ayash and Ferguson insisted, are the solution to winning more than just the war on drugs and crime.

When people know the difference between right and wrong and act from that understanding, they have the strength to hold their ground when it comes to making any crucial decision.