page 6 lifetime. By that I mean while official governmental policy has not overtly supported drug addiction, many of its policies have contributed to it, i.e. the lack of anti-drug abuse education and addiction treatment facilities in major Black Ghettos during the 1940's, 50's and 60's, plus closing the only two federal treatment centers in Lexington, Kentucky and Texas. During that period of time it was not Minorities and poor whites were mostly considered a national problem. addicted to heroin, while middle and upper income whites were still dealing with the myth of cocaine suiting their lifestyle and it not being addictive. Drug addiction did not become a public problem until it reached suburbia in the late sixties and early seventies. That's duplicity. It is also duplicity if our government policy requires us to support drug dealers in the fraudulent name of fighting communism, or stopping drug related deaths. A twisted sense of values can only create havoc and confusion. As a drug abuse consultant, I continually meet youngsters from a variety of environments. The common denominator among them is drug abuse with one or more of the things I've mentioned as a contributing factor. If nothing else I sincerely hope that these hearings illustrate very forcefully that drug abuse is not the root problem. Drug abuse is a very destructive symptom indicating a number of other problems. If this is not recognized, we may be doomed to continually treating symptoms in the form of drug abuse, or other behaviors that are equally destructive. I hope my testimony will help to move the issue of drug abuse prevention beyond dialogue toward accomplishment. Thank you. RAYMOND WHITTFIKID CAREER GOALS 516 Oneida St., N.E. Washington, DC 20011 Phone: (202) 529-1929 (202) 371-6611 My career goal is to develop strategies and programs, either as an administrator or consultant, that will assist urban youth in recognizing alternative, positive choices that are available to them which are strong enough to counteract the often negative choices they are faced with daily. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE ALTERNATIVE EXPERIENCES, INC. President/Consultant: 1987-Present Provides consultation services to child care and foster care agencies who are interested in utilizing experiential learning techniques to enhance the development of independent living skills among youngsters; designs and facilitates support group sessions for specific populations, i.e. recovering drug abusers, juvenile delinquents, etc. Director/Corporate Secretary Co-Founded The Center For Youth Development, an organization which researches, develops and administers programs with services to assist urban youth at risk. Supervised the staff and managed daily operations of the Center's programs, including program planning and effective service delivery; participated in proposal preparation and contract negotiation, maintained productive relations with agencies and their personnel, facilitated experiential workshops and support group designs, consulted with the Executive Director and the Director of Training for effective collaboration in program planning and management. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY 1976-1984 Ass't Director/Residential Responsible to the Director of Residential Life to implement university programs and policies. Selected and supervised support staff and service vendors, designed and facilitated staff training workshops, counseled students and staff, evaluated staff performance, prepared budget and staff projections. RAYMOND WHITFIKID cont'd PACIFICA FOUNDATION/WPFW-FM WASHINGTON, D.C. Independent Radio Program Producer 1978-Present 2 Produced and hosted nationally distributed Media Collective, which highlighted the spectrum of criminal justice issues. ALPHA SCHOOL (Therapeutic Commity) Supervisor 1973-1975 Liaison to social service agencies that provided support to our clients in the areas of health care and income maintenance; provided consultation to counselors for crisis management and conflict resolution among clients. EAST NEW YORK COMMUNITY CORPORATION BROOKLYN, X.Y.. 1971-1973 Senior Field Supervisor Monitored the delegated programs of the of youth participation and the quality of educational and recreational programming. Recruited and supervised youth gang members between 14-20 years old into Neighborhood Youth Corp programs. Provided supervision and direction for the summer staff. Provided liaison to the community relations office of the local police precincts. Designed/facilitated weekly drug abuse workshops. EDUCATION A.A.S Public Administration, Kingsborough Community B.A. Political Science, School of Government and Public (NTL) National Training Laboratory Courses; Human Interaction Laboratory, Training Theory and Practice, BIOGRAPHICAL LISTINGS Past member, Community Advisory Board, WPFW-FM Radio, Member: Friends of RAP, Inc.; Past member, of the National Board, Offender Aid and Who's Who Among Students In American Colleges and Universities, American University Washington, D.C.; Student Activities Gold key award, Kingsborough Community College, Brooklyn, N.Y. INTERESTS/HOBBIES Politics, Chess, Photography, Jazz PERSONAL DATA Additional information and/or references will be furnished upon request |