Thursday, November 19, 1970

THE MICHIGAN DAILY

Page Seven

Thursday, November 19, 1970 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Seven


DruA
By The Associated Press
As the nation gropes for an
answer to its drug- abuse epide-
mic, many new local efforts are
emphasizing the help that young
people can give to other young
- people who are in drug trouble.
In New Haven, Conn., the pro-
ject is private, a storefront call-
ed Number 9, as easygoing, in-
formal "youth crisis intervention
center," run by young people.
"Basically," says cofounder
Ted Clark, 26, "we've found that
kids have an intuitive sense of
how to. help other kids."
Organizations like Number 9
which got its name from the
Beatles song, "Revolution Num-
ber 9" - are beginning to spring
up across the country, with the
*. young people sometimes work-
ing largely alone, sometimes as
part of a community's overall
program.
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hel.p:
Whether in New Haven, or in
Phoenix, Ariz., San Mateo, Cal.,
all the programs try to offer
guidance and therapy to youths
in trouble, all reflecting vary-
ing aspects of the nation's ef-
fort.
In New Haven, for example,
the help comes from young
people skeptical of more estab-
lished routes of treatment.
"The whole concept of Num-
ber 9 is that the agencies are
failing," Clark argued. "They're
failing morally; they're failing
in terms of their responsibility
to the community, and they're
great big copout centers."
But an established agency in
Connecticut disputed this, coun-
tering that 'such informal cen-
ters are mainly for middle-class
white youths who are not usual-
ly on hard drugs, while the rec-
ognized agencies must aim at
prolonged, intense treatment of
those who have demonstrated a
clear desire to quit using drugs.
A center in Phoenix, in a large
white house in the downtown
area, also has a problem of in-
formality vs. formality, even
though it is a part of a larger
community program.
"We're kind of on a razor's
edge;" said Bill Thrift; manager
the Phoenix center. "We're try-
ing to help heads, but we get our
support from the straight com-
munity. If we lean too much to-
ward the heads, the straight
community says we're a bunch
of filthy hippies selling dope out
of the back room. But if we're

Coast-to-coast

counseling

SURVEY TAKEN:

too straight, we're narcs and
work with the cops. It gets to
be a drag sometimes."
The Phoenix center, called
Terros House (a misspelling of
the Latin word for earth) of-
fers help 24 hours a day to any-
one who needs it. But it also
comes under a local "umbrella"
organization, the Community
Organization for Drug Abuse
Control, suggested by the coun-
ty medical society to coordinate
the entire community effort.
Just south of San Francisco,
San Mateo County's community
drug program includes a county
hospital ward, mental health
centers and two "drop-in cen-
ters." More than 1,000 young-
sters used the drop-in centers,
located in an old house and an
abandoned restaurant, during a
recent month. The centers are
manned by volunteer college
students.
"We're trying to get young
people addicted to something
beneficial in society," said Bob
Yutzy, 26, a counselor. "We
don't say, "Don't take drugs."
Maybe the kid had a good ex-
perience with LSD.
"The majority of the kids com-
ing in used drugs to turn off
the world. We ask them if they
want to live the rest of their
lives like that and I've never
heard one say he did. We tell
them the reality of what you
stand to gain or lose with drugs
and let them make the deci-
sion."
Volunteers h e 1 P maintain
Number 9's three major facil-
ities, a storefront, a "crash pad"

for drug users to sleep in emer-
gencies and an arts lab for
painting and working with clay,
leather and other materials.
The storefront's walls carry
posters and signs about polit-
ical and social causes. Here,
young people can relax and
"rap" about what disturbs,
amuses or inspires them.
'I thought Number 9 was a
theater group," said a 20-year-
old girl, who said she had just
dropped out of high school and
been "thrown out of the house."
"I was curious, very lone-
some," she said. "Each time I
walked in, I felt a little better
when I walked out. It's a very
relaxing place." She kept com-
ing back, she said, "to help my-
self and to do something to help
other kids who have problems."
Although drug abuse remains
the most common problem at
the center, other difficulties -
single girls who are pregnant,
those with sex and dating an-
xieties, family problems-some-
times come up. In fact, coun-
selors said, most young people
can only learn to deal with drug
dependence by beginning to
understand the personal prob-
lems that made the drug attrac-
tive.
One feature common to the
various centers is a strict pro-
hibition against drugs on the
premises. "Nobody's allowed to
have anything in his posses-
sion," Clark said, "and if we
find out about it, we really won't
let him come around. It's as
drug-free an environment as
you can have."

Young people unclear
about free speech.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. UP) - A
national task force has releas-
ed a report indicating that a
majority of American y o u n g
people lacks "any consistent
understanding or conviction
about the exercise of free
speech."
The results of year-long sur-
veys of about 90,000 persons up
to the age of 35 were m ad e
public by the Education Com-
mission of the States, a non-
profit organization set up in
1964 with funds from the Car-
negie Corporation. Later fin-
ancing has come from the Ford
Foundation and the U.S. Office
of Education.
In a random sampling across
the nation, those interviewed
were asked if they would permit
Americans to hear these state-
ments by radio or television-
"Russia is better than the Uni-
ted States," "Some races of peo-
ple are better than others," "It
is not necessary to believe in
God."
Sixty-eight per cent of adults
from 26 to 35 said they would
refuse to permit the broadcast.
So would 94 per cent of boys
and girls 13 years old and 78
per cent of youngsters 17 years
old. The fourth group question-
ed in the survey, 9 year o l d s,
was considered too young for
the problem.
Somewhat different figures
were obtained when the ques-
tions were asked separately.
The statement, "It is n o t
necessary to believe in God,"
would be permitted by 49 per
cent of the 17 year olds and 55
per cent of the adults, the com-
mission said.
"Russia is better" would be
allowed by 56 per cent of the
adults and 49 per cent of the
17 year olds but only 21 per cent
of the 13 year olds.
"Some races are better" would
be aired by 37 per cent o fthe
adults, 31 per cent of the 17
year olds and 16 per cent of the
13 year olds.
A separate "national assess-
ment" of the ability of y o u n g
people to write and u n d e r-
stand was made public as 1 4 0
national educational leaders and
U.S. governors, including Dela-
ware Gov. Russell Peterson,

chairman of the commission, ar-
rived for three days of meetings
of the commission's steering
committee.
The writing tests were given
to students in 2,500 schools and
to nearly 8,000 adults inter-
viewed in their homes. They
showed marked improvement in
writing through the years -
until their formal school ended.
Dems to ban'
TV on floor,
of convention
WASHINGTON VP) - The
Democratic National Commit-
tee's rules commission voted
tentatively last week to ban
roving television cameras from
the floor of their 1972 nominat-
ing convention.
It rejected a proposal that
no interviews by Ielectronic
means-radio and tape record-
ers - be permitted while the
delegates are conducting busi-
ness.
If this is adopted finally it
means television newsmen with
sound equipment could interview
delegates but the picture por-
tion would have to be picked up
f'om cameras above the conven-
tion f loor.
The ban was voted after
lengthy discussion and the pro-
posal was watered down to bar
only television cameras. Press
and radio equipment were in-
cluded in the original wording
of the proposal.
One of those who fought the
rule, Joseph Crangle, chairman
of New York's Erie County Dem-
ocratic Committee, said he
would seek a reversal at the
commission's next consideration
of the matter.
A. June Franklin, an Iowa
state legislator, protested the
proposed television camera ban,
declaring "it looks like we're
trying to blast the press for
what happened in Chicago" in
1968.

Drug counseling at Number 9


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