[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 198 (Wednesday, December 13, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S18566]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TO HELP THOSE LIVING ON THE EDGE

   Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, one of the most dynamic people I 
have had a chance to meet in my years in public life is a Roman 
Catholic priest by the name of Father George Clements.
  He has stirred controversy from time to time by his championing of 
causes that sometimes are unpopular but always, in my opinion, reflect 
favorably on his faith and his humanitarianism.
  Recently Parade magazine had a story concerning his program of ``One 
Church-One-Addict'' which I ask to be printed in full in the Record.
  What a great thing for this Nation it would be if every church in the 
Nation were to follow this simple admonition.
  Many churches would find that they have been unable to help people, a 
least not immediately. But many others would find they have been the 
difference in keeping people from going over the edge.
  The article follows:

                    To Help Those Living on the Edge

                         (By Marie Ragghianti)

       The only major institution not dealing with substance abuse 
     is the church,'' the Rev. George Clements told me. ``Look at 
     our prisons and universities--they're fighting drugs. We can 
     do no less.''
       For many years, Father Clements has been inspiring others 
     to action through both his words and his deeds. In 1980, from 
     his parish in Chicago, he started a program called One 
     Church-One Child. His idea--for every church to place one 
     homeless child with a family--eventually grew into a national 
     program, and it has helped find homes for more than 50,000 
     children. In a controversial move, Clements himself adopted 
     four youngsters. (The Vatican eventually supported him.) In 
     1987, a TV movie told his story.
       Now, the 63-year-old priest has an even more ambitious 
     mission: to help recovering addicts find support in their 
     religious communities. Clements' new program is called One 
     Church-One Addict, which he founded with the American 
     Alliance for Rights and Responsibilities, a nonprofit 
     organization based in Washington, D.C.
       ``If Jesus was walking around today, he'd be working in the 
     area of substance abuse,'' Clements says when he speaks to 
     religious groups around the country. ``Jesus lived on the 
     cutting edge and helped others. We must do the same.''
       One Church-One Addict is ecumenical: All faiths are asked 
     to do something about drug addiction and/or alcoholism in 
     their communities. Volunteers are trainged to give counseling 
     and support. They meet with clients in one-on-one sessions, 
     helping them learn how to live without drugs or alcohol. 
     Clients usually enter the program upon leaving a 
     rehabilitation center or clinic. They receive support for 
     about nine months, although no time limit is set.
       I asked Father Clements how he got involved in helping 
     recovering addicts. It began, he said, with a child he once 
     knew who lived near his church--the Holy Angels Catholic 
     church, in the drug-plagued housing projects of Chicago's 
     South Side.
       ``I wouldn't be in this work today if it wasn't for 
     Tommy,'' Clements explained. ``Tommy was valedictorian of his 
     eighth-grade class. He was a great football player and had 
     won an academic scholarship to attend an excellent high 
     school. He wanted to be an obstetrician. One evening, he 
     asked if I thought he could make it. `Of course you can, 
     Tommy,' I told him. `I have no doubt.'
       ``That night, after I was in bed, the phone rang. It was 
     the emergency room a local hospital. A kid was dying. He was 
     unconscious and didn't have any identification, but they 
     could make out the words `Father Clements.' I raced to the 
     hospital. When I arrived, I found Tommy lying on a slab, dead 
     of a drug overdose.
       ``After the funeral, I sat at my desk and couldn't stop 
     crying. How could I not have known? That day, it was as if a 
     force grabbed me by the back of the neck, and I knew I had to 
     do something.''
       Shortly after Tommy's death, Father Clements took a walk 
     through his neighborhood. What he saw outraged him: Drug 
     paraphernalia littered the streets and, to his astonishment, 
     was being sold in the area's small liquor stores, pharmacies 
     and candy shops--many of which were frequented by children. A 
     few months later, Clements decided to organize protests. He 
     went to a large wholesaler of drug paraphernalia and held a 
     revival in the parking lot. The 1989 event was covered by 
     regional media and prompted the Illinois Legislature to pass 
     a law banning much of the paraphernalia.
       For Clements, however, that victory was only the beginning: 
     He decided that the church could no longer ignore the problem 
     of drugs in the community. After five years of planning, One 
     Church-One Addict was born in 1994, receiving funding through 
     seed grants provided by nonprofit groups. Since then, 715 
     churches in 31 states have signed on; more than 2000 people 
     have been helped by its network of support.
       How does Father Clements compare the two programs he 
     founded?
       ``I feel that One Church-One Addict is a natural outgrowth 
     of One Church-One Child,'' he said. ``People are much more 
     sympathetic to kids than to addicts. But I tell people that 
     I'm not excusing or defending addiction. We say, `Love the 
     addict, hate the addiction.' '' 

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