The communally residents liked their quiet neighborhoods and most never thought that drugs would be a problem. In fact, the problem really sneaked up on everyone. The town had only one bar, and although occasionally someone drank too much, the bar’s patrons usually controlled their drinking and didn’t bother anyone. Occasionally, two or three high school seniors would be caught drinking beer purchased at a store in a nearby town.
Yet these isolated incidents gave no indication of Kensington impending drug problem. Within the past year, the climate of the town had changed considerably. Incidents of teenagers being arrested for possession of alcohol or even other drugs, such as marijuana, were being reported more regularly in the newspaper. There seemed to be more reports of burglaries, too. There had even been a robbery and two assaults reported within the last month. The population of young adults in the community seemed to be Increasing, and many of these seemed to be driving Impressive cars, using the hottest new digital devices, and wearing the latest clothes.
All of these signs were obvious to a group of concerned citizens in Kensington and suggested the possibility of a drug problem. So the concerned citizens decided to take their concern to the city council. Questions 1-6 1. What is the real problem? No one wanting to admit that Kensington had a drug problem. 2. Who do you think the gatekeepers are In the community? The concerned colleens of Kensington. 3. What groups of people in the community might be most interested in solving the problem? The Kensington city council. 4. What groups might have a vested interest in seeing the problem remain unsolved?
The people selling and buying the drugs. 5. What Interventions would be useful In dealing with the problem? Jail time for those caught selling or using the drugs. I would evaluate my efforts to solve the problem by measuring whether or not my efforts had a significant impact on reducing the problem. For example, my efforts would be aimed at getting the citizens embroiled to have thee city council “nip it (the problem) in the bud,” that is, the city council, police and citizens need to let the drug sellers and users know that neither drug sales or drug use will be tolerated in Kensington before the problem gets further out of hand.
