Love and Education: the Anti-Drug

The Ducker Road Community Involvement Council celebrated its 25-month anniversary with its second annual community walk and Drug-A-Thon. Participants displayed the event’s theme on T-shirts: “If you can sell rock, you can sell stock. Be legit!” Photo by Doug Grant

by T.J. Moore

On August 26, a mob invaded Arden’s Ducker Road community.

Armed with thought-provoking picket signs and driven by unabashed love, intense pride, and boundless concern for the community, 135 men, women, and children spent their weekend pounding five miles of pavement, following the march with a rally promoting drug resistance and awareness and alternatives to drug abuse.

The Ducker Road Community Involvement Council (DRCIC) celebrated its 25-month anniversary with its second annual community walk and Drug-A-Thon at Arden Trinity Church. Participants displayed the event’s theme on T-shirts: “If you can sell rock, you can sell stock. Be legit!” This is the story of how the actions of a few can positively affect the lives of many.



A Man on a Mission

William "Cookie" Mills

A little over
two years ago, frustrated with and disappointed by the high volume of
drug trafficking and drug-related activities in the Ducker Road
community, native son William ‘Cookie’ Mills believed the time had come
for a drastic change.


“I woke up one
night at 4:00 in the morning, and I had the drug problem in the area on
my mind,” Mills says. “I was complaining about the drug traffic in the
area and I felt that God spoke to me at the time. I heard the voice
say, ‘You don’t have the right to complain about the drug problem
because you are not doing anything about it.’” From the time he woke up
until it was time for him to start work that day, Mills though about a
solution.


The basis of a
solution came in the form of a brochure, a flyer, and a meeting. To
draw attention to his cause, Mills wanted a flyer that encapsulated his
cause; but he knew it also had to be catchy. The flyer he designed was
headlined, “Cancer on Ducker Road,” expressing his belief that “Drugs
are like a cancer because it spreads from one drug house to the next
and it (drug trend) will continue to spread if you don’t do anything
about it.” He went house to house with the flyer, notifying residents
of the time and place of the meeting. Twenty-six people responded and
appeared at the meeting, where they formed the Ducker Road Community
Involvement Council.


The Immediate Impact of the DRCIC


After the
initial meeting, Mills and the DRCIC began to organize themselves as a
formidable group. According to Robert “Bob” Gunn, a staunch supporter,
the group’s objectives are: to rid the Ducker Road area of drug deals;
carry out a prevention program and education awareness; create and
develop a safe and supportive environment for abusers; and create an
understanding, supportive environment for addicts’ families.


The results were
almost immediate. Shortly after the DRCIC began, two crack houses in
the area shut down. “There was a 90 percent improvement in the area
since the council started,” says Mills.


A Cry of Help Heard and Inspiration to Continue


Mills expected
the council to be short lived, believing it would not take long to rid
Ducker Road of drugs. “The intent was to clean Ducker road, get rid of
the drugs, and disband,” he says. But plans changed when one woman, a
drug addict since the age of 13, came to Mills in July of 2004 asking
for help. “She told me, ‘I have done this (drugs) long enough; help
me.’ She attended the second meeting and she has been clean for 25
months now.”


After that work,
Mills began reaching out to area youth. The main anti-drug program in
schools is the Drug Abuse Resistance and Education program (D.A.R.E.),
but Mills says that the “Echo Boomers” generation is responding
positively to the DRCIC brand of drug education and awareness. “We go
to schools and educate students about the dangers of drug abuse. Kids
get bored with things quickly,” he says. “They live in a fast paced
society with their cell phones, text and instant messaging. It is
important to have their attention.”


In addition to
touring local schools, the DRCIC is in the developing stages of
establishing an adopt-an-addict program, designed to help drug addicts
get and stay clean with the help of a positive support system.


It’s Called Community Involvement Council for a Reason

135 men, women, and children spent their weekend pounding five miles of pavement, promoting drug resistance and awareness, and alternatives to drug abuse.  Photos by Doug Grant

After firmly
establishing itself in the community, the DRCIC decided it was time to
host community-oriented events. DRCIC member Betty Dockins came up with
the idea of a block party, and its success led Mills to establish the
walk and Drug-A-Thon.


The inaugural
community walk last year was a low-key affair with forty participants;
the second year, 135 participated in the walk and as many as 200
attended the rally. Gunn and City Councilman Carl Mumpower, who has
been active in strengthening the City’s fight against drug abuse,
helped bring publicity and attention to the DRCIC and its events. The
publicity also helped bring in such sponsors as McDonalds and Sagebrush
Steakhouse. The DRCIC is considering increasing the length of the
five-mile walk next year. “Some people came to me and said, ‘Cookie,
the walk went too fast for us. Let’s do seven [miles] next time,’”
Mills said.


If You Can Sell Rock, You Can Sell Stock!


The T-shirts
worn at the march and rally were inspired by Larissa Young, a woman who
was involved with the Dads Who Care Program. She came up with the
slogan, and it caught on quickly; the shirts have been featured and
sold at the Goombay Festival as well. When asked about the reaction
from others regarding the shirt, Mills said that the feedback is
positive. “I can go anywhere in stores and those who read it say it’s a
good idea, or they say ‘I had my battle with the rock.’” Sales of the
T-shirts help support the organization, which strives to be
self-supporting. As with other community groups, however, donations are
welcome.


The Future of DRCIC and Thoughts on The Nationwide Drug Epidemic


Mills expects
that the Ducker Road Community Involvement Council will continue to
bring drug awareness and rehabilitation to the masses. “As long is
there a drug problem, it (DRCIC) will be here,” he says. While the drug
problem on Ducker Road may seem to be under control, more and more
communities nationwide suffer from this epidemic. While he believes
that the drug crisis as a whole is not getting any better, Mills also
thinks that both churches and the government need to provide better
solutions to the problem.


“They
(government) are building jails and not rehab facilities,” he says.
“Anywhere from 70 to 80 percent of people in jail are there because of
drugs. They are only housing these people, not helping them. When these
people get out of jail, they are not able to get a job because of
felonies. I believe that the system is against them from having second
chances.”


According to
Mills, churches should become active in helping addicts instead of
ignoring the problem. “Too many churches sidestep issues that may make
them feel uncomfortable, such as drugs. They are also uncomfortable
reaching out to addicts, and the addicts are the ones who need this as
bad as anyone else,” he said. “I think that the churches can have a
major impact on the problem if they won’t sidestep the issues. If every
church member in the U.S. will reach out to an addict, what kind of
difference will it make in this nation?”


Mills also
believe that the mainstream media is guilty of exacerbating the
problem. “People are not talking about what’s legal. The illegal is
what is glamorized. The videos, music, movies, and news all emphasize
the illegal,” he said.


The DRCIC
continues to meet every Monday, thinking of fun and innovative ways of
fighting drug use in their community and beyond. They would not have it
any other way.


Our hands are
increasingly tied in referring people to professional sources of help,
as the State of North Carolina has seen fit to make accessing alcohol
and drug treatment increasingly difficult and restrictive. 


If you have further questions please call me at 669-0274.