White House Drug Policy Director Leads Volunteer Effort at Residential Treatment Center for Women and Children

WASHINGTON, DC – In honor of the National Day of Service on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, National Drug Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske and 50 volunteers from the Office of National Drug Control Policy today are preparing an unoccupied residential treatment center that will house women receiving substance abuse treatment and their children.

The volunteers are cleaning and painting the facility that will be operated by Community Action Group, a District of Columbia social services and addiction treatment provider since 1988.

“Community Action Group has helped thousands of men and women return to mainstream society as productive citizens,” said Kerlikowske. “This new center will allow women to receive treatment for substance abuse while keeping their families intact and helping to break an intergenerational cycle of addiction.”

Community Action Group was formed in 1988 in Southeast Washington when parishioners of Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Catholic Church decided to address the socio-economic problems that contributed to the spread of substance abuse in the parish and surrounding communities.

The group’s programs include youth development, adult social and spiritual development, parenting, drug use seminars and counseling. Today, CAG also is one of the largest drug treatment facilities in the District of Columbia with a 180-bed capacity.

A participant in the President’s Access to Recovery program, CAG offers its clients comprehensive recovery support programs, including the program to accommodate women with dependent children.

ONDCP establishes policies, priorities, and objectives for the Nation's drug control strategy that aims to prevent the initiation of substance abuse by young people, to reduce drug abuse, and combat drug production and trafficking.