[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 85 (Wednesday, June 11, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1223]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMENDING ELROY CHRISTOPHER AND CLAYTON GUYTON FOR ACHIEVING A 2003 
  ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON COMMUNITY HEALTH LEADERSHIP PROGRAM (CHLP) AWARD

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                        HON. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 11, 2003

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate, Elroy 
Christopher and Clayton Guyton, who stood up to drug dealers and opened 
a community center in their Baltimore neighborhood to save it from the 
ravages of crime and addiction. Mr. Christopher and Mr. Guyton are 
among an elite group of individuals from across the country selected 
this year to receive a Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership 
Program (CHLP) award of $120,000.
  Elroy and Clayton met while doing volunteer grassroots work to change 
the environment of crime and drug abuse in Baltimore. In 1999, they 
combined forces to open the Rose Street Community Center in an 
abandoned row house and ``take back'' the predominantly African-
American neighborhood from drug dealers who sold their wares openly on 
the street corner. Their goal was to create a ``civil life'' on the 
street where children could play safely and all residents could live 
without fear.
  Despite regular threats, Elroy and Clayton continue to work with 
residents to help them get addiction treatment and job training. They 
run a tutoring program for youths in cooperation with nearby Johns 
Hopkins Hospital, they help organize computer workshops and Bible study 
classes, and sponsor community events such as cookouts and tree 
plantings.
  They also created a program for court-ordered community service 
participants in which minor offenders clean up the streets in lieu of 
jail time. In the past two years, they have helped 100 men re-enter the 
community after being in prison.
  ``Before these two men began their work, Rose Street was a drug haven 
with open-air drug markets, intimidation of law-abiding citizens, and 
violence and murder,'' said their nominator, Polly Walker, Associate 
Director, Center for a Livable Future. ``Theirs is a single-minded 
commitment to help others escape the cycle of poverty, drug and alcohol 
addiction, and crime.''
  Mr. Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commending Elroy 
Christopher and Clayton Guyton for their accomplishments in founding 
the Rose Street Community Center and for their efforts put forth in 
achieving a 2003 Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership 
Program (CHLP) award.

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