Monday, January 14, 2008

LaWall Honored for Anti-Meth Efforts

PRESS RELEASE
For more information please contact:
Rita Weatherholt
Communications Director
Pima County Attorney’s Office
Ph: 520/740-5631
Cell: 520/419-3695
For Immediate Release
LaWall Honored for
Anti-Meth Efforts
(June 8, 2006 / Tucson, Arizona) - Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall was
awarded the first Paxis Institute Giraffe Award for her efforts in methamphetamine
prevention.
“We honor Barbara LaWall for sticking her neck out to jump start the Simple Gifts
effort for methamphetamine prevention, intervention, and treatment reaching drug
exposed babies, prevention in elementary schools and secondary schools, and powerful
treatment protocols for meth addicted individuals,” Darlene Lopez, Co-Chair of a Meth
Free Alliance task force and spokesperson for Paxis founder Dr. Dennis Embry said at
the award presentation.
The Paxis Giraffe Award was presented to LaWall at the Tucson Neighbors Building
Community (TNBC) Meth-Free Alliance kick-off event last Saturday. The event
brought together more than 350 neighbors, law enforcement officers, substance abuse
professionals and other concerned citizens to highlight the Dodge/Flower and Oak
Flower Neighborhoods’ anti-meth efforts.
LaWall was also recognized for her efforts to initiate other community programs and
projects, including supporting the Peace Builders violence prevention program in nearly
100 schools, bringing the Safe Baby campaign to the county, and creating Community
Justice Boards, a restorative justice program which gives teens an alternative to the
juvenile justice system.
The Simple Gifts program is a series of lectures and workshops aimed at specific
audiences affected by the negative impacts of methamphetamine use and manufacture in
Pima County. The Pima County Attorney’s office used RICO Funds (RacketeerInfluenced and Corrupt Organizations) to support the program. RICO funds are
obtained from forfeited assets of criminals, and are used by the Pima County Attorney’s
office and other law enforcement agencies to support anti-drug training and education
efforts.
“Your County Attorney’s Office is committed to working with the community to
make neighborhoods safe, and to keep neighborhoods safe. Our Neighborhood Liaison
is assigned to help you take back your neighborhoods by putting away these Meth
monsters, and by helping to prevent the problem in the first place,” LaWall told event
attendees.
The Pima County Attorney’s Office, led by LaWall since 1996, is nationally
recognized for its strong prosecutorial record of the worst crimes, in addition to
innovative partnerships focusing on crime prevention and public safety. For more
information about the Pima County Attorney’s Office, log on to www.pcao.pima.gov.

Copyright 2004 – Pima County Attorney

No comments: