Doing street outreach the past couple of weeks at homeless camps in Greensboro (and at a tent city with multiple homeless camps), I’ve seen long-familiar faces and lots of new faces. I’ve seen homeless camps spring back up in places that had emptied out for a while. I’ve seen homeless … > read more
Kevin Barbieux caused a commotion when he posted this on Facebook: “For the love of God people, stop giving money to drunken panhandlers. These panhandlers are alcoholics and drug addicts. The money you give them will only go towards more alcohol and drugs, enabling their disease. With your money, these … > read more
“A new study says that drug treatment courts, which state legislators cut funding for in the recent budget, are effective at reducing crime and drug use. Drug courts also saved an average of nearly $5,700 per participant, resulting in a net benefit of $2 for every $1 spent, according to … > read more
A frequently asked question from visitors to this site: Can crack cocaine come through breast milk? And the answer? YES. Â When a breast-feeding mom uses crack cocaine, she may pass the drug on to her baby through her breast milk, with serious effects: “Convulsions have been seen both in … > read more
“…He had a massive heart attack from the first time he relapsed. He had been clean for so long he couldn’t get enough when he relapsed and it killed him. He was my best friend. I loved him so much…” This is the nightmare you most fear when you love … > read more
Addiction develops much more rapidly with cocaine than alcohol, often within a few weeks or months, and especially when smoked as freebase (crack). Thus, the dynamics of cocaine addiction are different from those of alcoholism, including its impact on the individual and the family. Cocaine addiction can be likened to … > read more
Good editorial in today’s News & Record: “Clearing out The Block”: Greensboro police last week stepped up loitering enforcement and effectively cleared the place known as “The Block.” Just like that. Through a series of 30-minute patrols, officers shooed away the clusters of mostly men who routinely gather at the … > read more
The News & Record and WFMY report that the owner of the University Mart in Greensboro has been charged with food stamp fraud. He’s accused of making purchases at local grocery stores with food stamps that weren’t assigned to him. The University Mart is on Warren Street, near the intersection … > read more
Did you read News & Record editorial page editor Allen Johnson’s Sunday, October 4, 2009 column? Read it online: My conflicted views about panhandlers. Allen writes in response to the heavily restrictive changes to the city’s panhandling ordinance, which have made it illegal to panhandle almost everywhere downtown, and have … > read more
Be sure to read Lorraine Ahearn’s News & Record article, “Benches highlight a bigger problem”, which begins like this: “The location of artistic benches, which were removed from the Downtown Greenway on Friday after neighbors complained, looked good on paper but ignored some basic urban topography. Just a stone’s throw … > read more