NAÏVE Program “Mock”tail Speech

Given by Detective Daniel Baranoski

Drug and alcohol addiction is one of the gravest societal problems in existence today. Addicts harm themselves and the world in general through crime, lost productivity, domestic violence, abuse, neglect and errors made while under the influence of drugs and alcohol, like the drunk driver who smashes into a crowd of innocent bystanders. The toll that addiction takes on everyone is staggering.  It destroys individuals and families.

I have been a police officer for over 20 years now and have seen the destruction caused by addiction.  I have seen kids and adults get confused and the make mistake to start using drugs or alcohol.  I’ve seen their ugliest side of people as they do whatever they have to in order to quench their addiction.  I’ve seen parents, family and friends search for missing souls lost out there somewhere getting high.  I’ve seen bodies left after the substance consumed its latest victim.  I’ve seen loved ones left behind in agony after their angel is lost.  I’ve seen communities in shock after losing one of their own, not even have known the suffering that had been going on right next door to them until after reading the obituary.

How do we battle this epidemic that destroys so many?  It is not an easy answer.  I believe that we need four major components:

1)     Aggressive Law Enforcement

2)     Drug & Alcohol Education Programs

3)     Fast, Effective & Affordable Treatment

4)     Drug Courts

We have had aggressive narcotic law enforcement ever since the so-called “War on Drugs” began over two decades ago.  Tonight, it’s nice to be able to recognize leaders like PA Attorney General Tom Corbett and his tough enforcement of our drug laws.  Corbett and other agents of law enforcement (like Middletown Police) do a great job identifying and arresting drug dealers.  But, law enforcement alone doesn’t work.  As soon as you arrest a dealer, there is someone to take his place on that corner.  There is the economic equation of supply and demand.  Law enforcement attacks the supply, but we also need Drug & Alcohol Education Programs to attack the demand.  Hopefully, this education helps people realize the dangers and possible lethal risks involved to prevent future customers.  That is why we started the NAÏVE Program.  In our program, we show the real face of drugs and alcohol and what it does.  They see actual consequences and actual death.  They get to see those faces behind the statistics.  They see all those souls that went before them saying the same thing, “It won’t happen to me” and “I can handle this”.  Hopefully they learn that it can happen to them before they ever start.  Tonight it’s nice to be able to recognize PA State Representative Gene DiGirolamo and PA State Senator Robert “Tommy” Tomlinson for assisting educational programs like our NAÏVE Program by committing resources to these worthwhile programs.  It is especially an honor tonight to recognize the mothers of the NAÏVE Program who give so much of their heart and soul to our program. 

But even with all the best enforcement and best education available, there still will be those who develop problems with drugs & alcohol.  For those people, we need fast, effective and affordable treatment.  Insurance companies only pay for one 30 day stay in a drug rehabilitation center once in your life.  That’s it.  After that, it’s on you or your family.  Treatment is not cheap.  Some just can’t get the help they need.  That’s why it’s nice to recognize a person like PA State Representative Gene DiGirolamo, who is committed to helping rehabilitation programs by fighting to continue assigning much needed state resources to them.

But there is more that is needed to fight this growing problem.  We also need Drug Courts.  I am tired of having parents and neighbors come see me complaining that their addicted son or daughter was arrested again and again, but is still out on the streets using drugs for months before they even get sentenced.  I’m tired of parents telling me that son or daughter is out committing more crimes while out on bail – having being released because there is no room at the jail.  Yes, even Bucks County Prison is overcrowded and operates at a full capacity.  Most criminal cases take 10 months to a year before they have an actual trial or sentencing date.  So when our addicted sons and daughters are arrested for thefts and other property crimes, they are released and continue using drugs and committing more crimes to pay for their habit during this time.  And we miss an important opportunity to help them.  Usually, an arrest is a tragic event in someone’s life – they recognize that they are hitting rock bottom.  That is the time to get them quickly into an effective treatment program for the best success – not 10 months to a year later that our system does now.  Drug Courts would accomplish this.  Drug Courts cut down the time interval between arrest and treatment and provide for longer treatment.  If a non-violent offender goes into a Drug Court program, it is immediate.  And it is supervised by a County judge for a longer period of time than most cases get sentenced to now.  Drug Courts are actually harder on addicts.  If a Drug Court program participant does not comply with the rules and sanctions, then they go to jail.  Drug Courts started in 1989 in Miami, Florida and have spread across the country. There are over 1200 Drug Courts nationally as of the beginning of this year.  There have been hundreds of studies on their effectiveness and all studies so far show positive results.  They show a 20 to 30% reduction in re-arrests of Drug Court graduates thereby reducing crime.  They show that between 67 and 71% of participants stay in treatment which is a six-fold increase in treatment retention over current methods.  These studies also show that Drug Courts save taxpayer money – for every $1 spent on Drug Courts, a $7 to $10 tax savings is realized compared to traditional systems.  So if Drug Courts reduce crime, provide affordable treatment, increase retention in treatment, save taxpayer money and actually help people at the same time, I have one question – Why doesn’t Bucks County have a Drug Court?  So tonight, it’s nice to recognize two people in the audience that have voiced their opinion in support of Drug Courts – the Magisterial District Judge in Morrisville, Honorable Michael Burns, and a candidate this year to be the Bucks County District Attorney, Terry Houck.

Linda Brayshaw (who lost her son Michael to addiction)

Linda Chamberlain (who lost her daughter Jennifer to addiction and who also just moved   to Florida to enjoy the hurricane season and couldn’t be with us tonight)

Vicky Faunce (who lost her son Bill to addiction)

Mary Lou Kufta (who lost her son Adam to addiction)

Cindy Lynch (who lost her son Rob to addiction)

Judy Zuggi (who lost her son Frankie to addiction)

I would also like to bring up at this time our Chemical Dependency Consultant Nancy Ennis.  Nancy also lost her niece Brook due to addiction.

We started this program so everyone would see the worst tragedy that can happen to any family – the loss of a son or daughter due to drugs or alcohol.  These women take turns getting up in front of an audience and reliving their greatest pain in the hope that they may save one life and stop this from happening to someone else.  This selfless act is very tough on them, but they don’t run away from it.  They often break down and everyone gets to see the real-life pain involved.  Their personal touch brings the presentation home and often has people leaving in tears.  We have received cards and letters from kid and parent alike who have been so moved by their story.  Without these women, there would be no NAÏVE Program. 

Call up Joe Szafran on behalf of Pennsylvania Senator Robert “Tommy” Tomlinson to present citations to moms.

And now, we have a special award for our Volunteer of the Year Award.  This is being presented to someone who somehow manages to fit NAÏVE work in her busy schedule of being the Chairperson of the Middletown Drug & Alcohol Commission, on the Board for Neshaminy’s Communities That Care, a volunteer EMT for the Penndel Emergency Squad and also for the Langhorne Fire Department.  But for NAÏVE, she coordinates “stuffing parties” where kids and adults alike, including some of our NAIVE moms, spend hours in the basement of the police station stuffing bags and folders of handouts that get distributed at the NAÏVE presentations.  For all of this, we present the Volunteer of the Year award to Dori Bower. 

Call up PA Senator Tomlinson and PA State Rep Wright to present citations to Dori Bower.

And now, I would like to present one more award to someone who did so much to set up and run this event.  – Lisa Ann Deon.  This person did all the mailings, telephone calls, soliciting advertisers, putting together that great booklet for tonight, and generally ran this whole thing.  I spoke with one of people on the NAÏVE Board and asked what we should put on an award for Lisa.  They told me to call her our “go-to-gal” which is exactly what Lisa is.  But since that didn’t sound good for a plaque, we used “Fundraising Coordinator” instead.  Lisa also helps with stuffing of handouts and other NAÏVE tasks, in addition to writing grants for us, getting us incorporated, filing for us attain our IRS 501 C 3 status, and keeping our website up to date with changes in or pending legislature.  Lisa, please accept this plaque in appreciation for your services to NAÏVE.