ft L40cAIL/5TATt The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 5, 1995 - 7A P" Group teaches shoplifters to quit, recover from habit By Jonathan Hohn For the Daily "That's part of my recovery," Terry said, after he had asked the clerk if the caramels on the counter were free. This man is Terry Shulman, a recov- ering shoplifter who is starting a sup- port group for shoplifters in Ann Arbor next week. The name of the group is CASA - Cleptomaniacs and Shoplift- ers Anonymous. Shulman started a similar group in Detroit in 1992. Shulman said he believes that shop- lifting provides an immediate fix. "It is very similar to a drug addiction. Once you're hooked on this, the mind starts to get distracted and needs it more and more." Shoplifting, Shulman said, is more than just a legal issue - its underlying cause lies deep within a person's exte- rior. Shoplifting may start as feelings of anger that lie unaddressed, or when a person has a deep belief that life has been unfair to them in some way. To make up for this perceived unfair- ness, the person shoplifts to reclaim some of the lost power, entitlement and a sense of fairness. "Shoplifting for me was an acting out. I wasn't getting what I thought I deserved so I felt like I needed to re- claim those things that I deserved," Shulman said. He said college students are probably the most at risk for shoplifting. The pressure of grades, relationships, find- ing a major, anxiety about graduation and finances may cause students to shop- lift as an acting out of emotions and feelings of unfairness in their lives. Shulman warns that shoplifting may start out as employee theft and then progress to taking money out of the Meeting o t The support group will meet every Tuesday starting Oct.10 at the Friends Center Meeting House at 1420 Hill St. from 7-8:30 p.m. Those intrested can contact Terry Sehulman at (313) 913-6990. drawer, and then a person begins to steal out of stores. "This behavior has provided with me a crutch, because if something did not go well in my life I could tip the scale in my favor by taking a little object," he said. Angelais a recovering shoplifterwho was in Shulman's group in Detroit. She, said her problem started because of great emotional problems she was suf- fering. "I was out of control. The obessive- behavior was taking over my life," Angela said. Angela gives credit to Shulman's group for her recovery from shoplift- ing. "If someone would have told me I would be at the point I am now in my_ recovery, I would not have believed them. I thought I neverwould stop," she said. Shulman wants to see the day when shoplifting is not only viewed as a legal problem, but also a condition that needs to treated like drug addiction and alco- hol abuse. He wants the court system and probation officers to send shoplift- ers to support groups and therapy to get help for this problem. Shulman said this group is open to anyone who has a problem with shop- lifting. He added, this group is not a support group with a religious agenda, but is all-encompassing in its outreach,: NOPPORN KICHANANTHA/Daily Vood Works ark Somoza of Ann Arbor builds a chest at the University's Student Wood Shop. People can use the facility after taking a four-hour training course and paying $25. I .resmma n Area associations help buinsss function iesin A2 "By 1970 a sprawling literary college will have taken over all of the central campus area. The col- lege-with a present enrollment of 13,744 - will have grown to an expected 16,155 students." y Melissa Kowalls or the Daily Being in business in a town that loses third of its population for four months an make for some lean months. Hav- ig homeless people blocking the front oor can cut into sales. Trash and un- ily bushes can turn off potential cus- mers, too. To combat these and other problems rea businesses face, the State Street Area issociation and South University Area issociation help keep the businesses stu- ents are so familiar with "in business." "The State Street Area Association vorks directly with merchants to make he downtown Ann Arbor area as won- lerful as possible... from promotions o fixing their street light," said Susan 'ollay, executive director of the State treet Area Association. State Street is one of the four mer- hant organizations working to main- ai downtown Ann Arbor's business listrict, Pollay said. The general pur- >ose of these groups is to give business wners a way to meet other business >wners and to act as sounding boards 'or information, complaints, concerns nd promotional ideas. The stores in the State Street area are br the most part independently owned, naking Association services essential orsuccess. Some are even family-owned nd second- or third-generation-run. "Because we're mostly independent >usinesses, we have formed a network o communicate amongst ourselves, and he State Street Area Association is a ig part of that network," said Bob )ascola, owner of Dascola Barbers. 'Businesses want to help out other busi- esses so that Ann Arbor can remain :he one-of-a-kind city that it is." Pollay says her association ofapproxi- nately 170 businesses holds meetings nce or twice a week, keeping mer- hants informed about Ann Arbor "hap- penings," and gives them the opportu- ity to ask for help or voice a concern. This past year, the association spent $15,000 on painting, planting flowers, cleaning sidewalks and other general maintenance to improve the appear- nee of the business area. Association monies are also used for promotional rochures of the State Street area. "Ann Arbor is so unique ... people don't realize that just by walking five blocks off campus, they can find Kerrytown - practically a separate city INYES*T # South Univ. association helps new merchants * I By Melissa Kowalls For the Daily Similar to State Street, the South University Area Association is an or- ganization working toward keeping downtown Ann Arbor a healthy, vital business area. The South University Area Asso- ciation began 25-30 years ago and is the smallest of the city's four associa- tions, composed of 5{ businesses. "Each section of downtown repre- sented by an association is very differ- ent and must be marketed differently, which is the reason for four area asso- ciations," said Andie Dreyden, direc- tor of the South University Area Asso- ciation. Dreyden said businesses on South University Avenue change hands so frequently that her association is used more for promotion and marketing of the area than for merchant relation- ships. "The associationprovides snow re- moval, trash removal and basically wants the area to remain prosperous," said Tom Rule, manage of Tower Records. The Streetscape on South Univer- within a city," Pollay said. "You can eat at Sweet Lorraine's, buy a pumpkin on Sat- urday morning at Farmer's Market, or go experience Zingerman's, andpeople need to know it's all here in Ann Arbor." The four directors of the downtown Ann Arbor Area Associations meet once a month to plan ways of promoting downtown businesses. "We each have our own area's spe- cific promotional needs, but we know that proving to people how beneficial shopping anywhere in the downtown area is, is even more important," said Andie Dreyden, the director ofthe South University Area Association. Both associations, along with Main Street and Kerrytown Area Associa- tions, are currently working on a joint project. The four are producing a walk- ing map of Ann Arbor. The map will support local businesses by offering sity was a recent project of the asso- ciation. "We are very pedestrian- oriented," Dreyden said, "and the city let us play a big role in improving the South University business area ... lots of planted flowers and benches." Dreyden said the organization as- sists members with any needs they have and deals with area problems. "The largestproblem for South Uni- Iversity businesses is parking," Rule said. "There justisn't enough parking and full-time students and shoppers have to share what little there is. The Association is trying to find a way to solve our space dilemma, but we haven't figured anything out yet," The summer also proves to be chal- lenging for merchants on South Uni- versity. "June isn't too bad because many students are still here, but July is great with the art fair, it is like bringing in four Christmas shopping days into the summer," Rule said. "August is awful." Dreyden said the art fairs not only promote and help out the businesses, but also markets the University and is one ofher association's biggest events. ideas of where to go for specific prod- ucts and identifying "must-visit" Ann Arbor sites. Pollay said the association also helps merchants keep their businesses alive during the summer months, partially through the summer art fairs. "The students are the main source of business for many stores throughout the school year, but summer survival is challenging," said Gary Clark, man- ager of Van Boven's. The development of the Ann Arbor Art Fairs was the solution to the summer's problems. The four merchant associa- tions organize the fairs, which allow busi- nessesto display their goods along down- town streets, and bring in anywhere from 300,000 to 500,000 people annually. "The stores can make in four days what they wouldn't normally make in an entire summer," Pollay said. 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