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REPRINTED FROM THENEXTMAYOR.COMJanuary 31, 2007 press release, (submitted via e-mail) |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 1/31/07
CONTACT: Susan Madrak, Press Secretary
215-636-0660 ext. 19
Cell: 267-879-9789
Knox Calls for Drug Treatment Funding and Innovation
PHILADELPHIA – Democratic mayoral candidate Tom Knox visited several drug treatment centers and attended treatment related events this week, gathering feedback on his ideas to expand treatment services.
“I know how painful it can be to lose a loved one to drugs – I lost my brother,” Knox said. “We have an obligation to get everyone who needs help the help that they need.”
Knox’s visits included a talk at Recovery King House, a drug and alcohol treatment center in Germantown on Monday, meetings with administrative staff at Northeast Treatment Centers and a drug activist from the Frankford community on Tuesday, and attendance at the graduation ceremony for Treatment Court, a judicial program for first-time drug offenders, today.
“There needs to be timely and affordable intervention available to Philadelphians who suffer from addiction,” he said this week. “We have to help people who are in treatment become productive and employable, and then we need to make sure they can get good-paying jobs when they’ve completed treatment, so they don’t keep falling into the same trap.”
Knox’s design to fight Philadelphia’s drug problem is three-pronged. First, he will create a Treatment Innovation Fund, which will support innovative programs like Treatment Court and the Forensic Intensive Recovery program. Second, Knox will create a Mayor’s Office of Substance Abuse and charge it with creating a citywide strategy for curbing addiction. Finally, Knox will expand the police department and give it the technological tools it needs to flood drug hotspots and deter drug dealers.
“People have to know there’s a brighter future ahead to make drug treatment work. The city has to take the lead in making it happen, and when I’m mayor, I’ll do everything in my power to do so.”
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