ANAHEIM : $150,000 Grant Will Aid Anti-Drug Effort

The city’s drug-prevention efforts moved forward on two fronts this week, as the city won a $150,000 federal anti-drug grant and announced plans to hire a citywide coordinator for drug education.

The $150,000 grant, the largest federal award of its type ever received by Anaheim, will be used to expand the city’s Project Save-A-Youth program (known as Project SAY) by adding after-school and summer recreation programs for elementary school students at five schools in areas with large Latino populations.

“We worked really hard for that,” said Steven E. Swaim, manager of the city’s Community Services Division. “It’s exciting news.”

With the grant, Project SAY, which fights drugs and gang membership with a summer youth camp, a continuing education program for dropouts, a boxing program and bilingual neighborhood outreach workers, will be expanded to develop programs for children ages 6 to 13 to encourage self-esteem and offer alternatives to gangs.

The programs will be held during noon recess, after school and during a 10-week summer session. Project SAY also includes parent education, addresses the cultural needs of Latino youth and proposes a system for tracking young people who are at risk of becoming involved with drugs or gangs. Swaim said he plans to have Project SAY’s expansion under way this spring.

Gang membership has nearly doubled in Anaheim in the last year, according to Anaheim Police Department statistics. This year, there are 14 gangs in Anaheim with a total of nearly 550 members. Last year, there were 10 gangs with about 275 members, police reported.

To coordinate the anti-drug programs offered by private organizations and the city, a committee of city, business and school officials has agreed that a citywide drug coordinator should be hired.

Doug Gibson, who has organized the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce’s anti-drug Red Ribbon week activities for three years, will probably be named drug-education coordinator, said Chamber Executive Director Allan B. Hughes.

“Everybody seems to think it’s about time to unite and support each other’s efforts,” Gibson said.

The superintendents of the six districts with schools in Anaheim, the city manager, police chief, fire chief and a Chamber of Commerce representative have been holding regular meetings since June to discuss Anaheim’s drug-prevention strategy.