David Lewis

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1993

David Lewis

Free At Last

http://www.freeatlast.org

East Palo Alto, California, United States

Community Improvement & Economic Development

The Bold Idea:

In 1992 drug turf wars led to the murder of 42 people in the City of East Palo Alto and the media called it "the murder capital of the U.S." To treat the most marginalized, disadvantaged, and hard-to-reach substance abusers, ideally the service provider needs to be accessible and located within the community. In a small closed community like East Palo Alto, people are more open to treatment when the role models are people with whom they identify. According to a 1996 California Commission studying minority health concerns, “Neighborhood-based, community focused programs established and run by members of the community, located within the community, have much more positive results in meeting needs than state-run programs.”

Free at Last provides community-based, culturally appropriate prevention, intervention, bilingual outpatient and residential substance abuse treatment services for adults, intervention services for at-risk youth, transitional housing and aftercare for alumni. The organization's primary goals are to break the cycle of addiction and rebuild families, provide alternatives to incarceration, prevent the spread of AIDS, foster education and economic self-sufficiency, and contribute to the health and safety of the community.

Biography:

David Lewis, President and cofounder, is a Community Outreach Specialist with the San Mateo County AIDS Program. He is a Master Facilitator for Gordon Graham and Company in the Framework for Change video curriculum. Mr. Lewis was featured in the Bill Moyers documentary "Circle of Recovery" and currently speaks on the national speakers circuit. He was awarded the California Peace Prize in 1995 and the Positive Image Award in 1992. As a founder of the recovery movement in East Palo Alto, he has established a network of support with other providers as well as a network within the state Department of Corrections. Mr. Lewis focuses on African-American men, parolees and ex-offenders, and longtime addicts.