[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6346]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE RIO GRANDE SAFE COMMUNITIES 
                               COALITION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SILVESTRE REYES

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 15, 2011

  Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the accomplishments 
of the Rio Grande Safe Communities Coalition. The Coalition serves the 
Paso del Norte region which includes the City of El Paso, Texas, 
Southern New Mexico and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico to build a 
safe drug-free environment for youth and adults. I want to honor the 
members of this Coalition for their tireless efforts in making a 
positive difference in our nation.
  By implementing substance abuse preventative strategies within these 
communities, the Rio Grande Safe Communities Coalition helps 
individuals to avoid the negative consequences of drug and alcohol 
abuse. In order to do this effectively, the Coalition proactively 
identifies unsafe conditions in the community that contribute to the 
problem of substance abuse, and implements programs that aim to stop 
the behaviors creating these conditions. One such example is the 
Communities Against Reckless Endangerment or CARE initiative.
  The CARE initiative was established in 2002 by the Coalition in 
response to troubling data from University Medical Center of El Paso 
and the El Paso Police Department regarding alcohol-related incidents 
among youth ages 12-17. The Coalition's response to this problem was to 
build a program that engages high school students to become part of the 
solution through peer-to-peer learning and educational awareness 
campaigns that warn of the dangers of substance abuse. Through this 
initiative, which was funded through the Office of Juvenile Justice & 
Delinquency Program and monitored by the Office of National Drug 
Control Policy, high school students created public service 
announcements and billboards aimed at preventing alcohol and drug 
abuse.
  Since the establishment of the Rio Grande Safe Communities Coalition 
in 1999, there have been a number of initiatives to prevent and combat 
substance abuse. Initiatives include Operation B.R.I.D.G.E., which 
helped curb the problem of underage drinking by local teens who would 
cross into Mexico to consume alcohol, and the ``DARE 2 CARE,'' campaign 
that placed warnings at convenience store windows and on alcohol 
packages throughout El Paso regarding unsafe and illegal consumption of 
alcohol.
  The efforts of the Rio Grande Safe Communities Coalition have helped 
save the lives and improve the health of countless individuals in the 
community. Today, I am proud to recognize their efforts in improving 
the quality of life for youth and adults living in the Paso del Norte 
region, and congratulate the Coalition for recently marking 10 years of 
community collaboration.

                          ____________________