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How Rutland, Vt., Is Taking On Drug Trafficking With 'Project Vision'
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We've had a number of conversations about communities in our area that are struggling with an overwhelming opioid addiction crisis.
Those conversations are so often grim and heartbreaking, but here's a glimmer of hope — one strategy to fight drug trafficking in a Vermont town with a population of under 20,000 people seems to be working.
Rutland, Vermont, had developed a reputation as "heroin city," but now — partly thanks to something called "Project Vision" — drug-related crimes are down, hundreds of people are going into treatment and drug dens are being demolished.
David Kennedy was a big proponent of "Project Vision" — he's also well-known in Boston for helping develop the strategy that reduced gang violence in this city in the '90s, "Operation Ceasefire."
Guest
David Kennedy, director of the National Network for Safe Communities, a project of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He tweets @DavidKennedyNYC.
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The Boston Globe: In Rutland, Vt., A Rare Glimmer Of Hope In Battle Against Opioid Addiction
- "It’s morning, and local and State Police cruisers already are crisscrossing an opioid-ravaged neighborhood of this small city. Rutland police Sergeant Matthew Prouty slows to a crawl past boarded-up homes. His radio crackles with questions about an out-of-state license plate."
The New York Times: A Call To Arms On A Vermont Heroin Epidemic
- "Block by block, this city in central Vermont has been fighting a heroin epidemic so entrenched that it has confounded all efforts to combat it."
This segment aired on November 24, 2015.