[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 34 (Monday, March 17, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E488-E489]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




ANCHOR CONNECTION'S HEROISM ON THE FRONT LINES OF AMERICA'S DRUG WAR IS 
                           RIGHTFULLY HONORED

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 17, 1997

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, it is all too easy to get 
discouraged when reading the latest statistics showing that marijuana 
and heroin use among teenagers has skyrocketed over the last 5 years. 
Day after day, it seems that our media reports are filled with reports 
of violence; depression, and lost opportunities. Yet as a counter-
balance against these reports, I am encouraged to share the experience 
and success of the Anchor Connection in Trenton, NJ.
  Anchor Connection is a specialized program operated within the Anchor 
House, a nationally recognized basic service center for runaway and 
homeless youth, and has served the residents of central New Jersey 
since 1979. The Anchor House also operates a Transitional Living 
Program, which helps reduce drug abuse by teaching independent living 
skills to troubled teens.
  I am proud that Anchor Connection is being honored today for its hard 
work by three of our

[[Page E489]]

Nation's top drug prevention organizations at the Federal level: Gen. 
Barry McCaffrey, Director of the Office of National Drug Control 
Policy, Nelba Chavez, Ph.D., Administrator of the Department of Health 
and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration [SAMHSA], and Stephania O'Neill, Acting Director of the 
Center for Substance Abuse Prevention [CSAP].
  Anchor Connection's outreach director, Heidi Camerlengo, and their 
drug prevention counselor, Ann Suabedissen, are doing marvelous and 
critical work in Mercer County and have earned our Nation's collective 
applause today. Anchor Connection, as the only comprehensive alcohol, 
tobacco, and other drug [ATOD] prevention program for runaway and 
homeless youth in central New Jersey, saw over 800 youth and families 
last year to help them resist the deadly allure of drugs and alcohol.
  These children stayed in the custody of Anchor Connection for an 
average of 6 to 8 months, where they were introduced to Anchor House's 
enormously successful family of comprehensive programs that help 
troubled runaway youths. Anchor Connection's programs include 
resistance skills education and social skills training so that these 
teens can adapt and cope with life's day-to-day problems without having 
to resort to illicit substances of alcohol.
  Their programs also provide transportation to needed services within 
the community, drug and alcohol screening, as well as life, education, 
and job skills training. This is in keeping with the idea that people 
who lack these basic life skills are more likely to succumb to the 
temptation of drugs. Through these programs, Anchor Connection enables 
these teens to adapt more readily for a normal, drug-free life.
  Anchor Connection also conducts community awareness and education 
seminars to get the facts out about drug and alcohol abuse, and conduct 
individual, group, and family counseling to help those whose lives are 
directly touched and affected by our Nation's drug epidemic.
  This overall approach has paid big dividends to the troubled kids and 
teens of Mercer County. Anchor Connection boasts a drug-reduction rate 
of at least 25 percent for children who remain with the program for 12 
months. Heidi Camerlengo has estimated that the program has an 80-
percent success rate in reducing drug use and getting the youth 
participants interested in school and other activities.
  Another important aspect of Anchor Connection's drug prevention 
program is its individual written service plan, which helps young 
persons understand and achieve set goals. Since the program has a focus 
on runaway youths, it actively gets involved in resolving family 
conflicts. Where possible, it encourages family reunification, and 
where this is not a viable option, Anchor Connection will place 
children into foster care or other families.
  I have been a longtime supporter and advocate for the Anchor House 
and its family of runaway youth programs, including the Drug and 
Alcohol Prevention Program run by Anchor Connection, as well as the 
Transitional Living Program administered by the Anchorage. Over the 
years, I have been honored to author many letters of support and have 
followed-up with the key Federal officials who administer Federal grant 
programs. Given the solid record of accomplishment they have built for 
themselves, Anchor House and Anchor Connection have proven that every 
cent of Federal support they have earned has been well worth the 
investment in our children.
  In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, let me say that the employees and 
volunteers at Anchor Connection have every right to be proud and 
gratified by this national award today. Today's award honors not only 
Mercer County's successes, but all the heroes across America who work 
in obscurity and anonymity on the front lines and in the trenches of 
America's war on drugs. These are the heroes who are out there on the 
streets of America day and night saving our children from the scourge 
of drugs one kid at a time. When the fanfare from today's ceremony 
ends, their quiet, patient task of rebuilding and repairing lives will 
go on. The hope and promise of a drug-free America that Anchor 
Connection has amply demonstrated in 1996, is and should be inspiration 
to teachers, parents, and students everywhere. It is right and fitting 
that we honor their arduous efforts and successes today.

                          ____________________