through the Sandys Against Drugs (SAD) group.

Spokesperson Mrs. Eugenie Simmons said members have discussed the possibility of a kite-making workshop, paying unemployed Sandys residents for their contributions.

The kites could be purchased by members of the community and used when the group meets for Good Friday festivities later this month.

"We're not always addressing substance abuse, things like this bring the community together as one unit,'' she said. "(This will provide) certain members of the community who may not be actively involved with a source of income.

"We realise it can't compensate for a pay cheque but it is part of our desire to target and focus on those actively seeking employment and who are willing to work.'' Mrs. Simmons said the programme will operate from a parish facility. The plan was discussed between the 50-60 persons present at a SAD meeting at Sandys Secondary School on Monday night.

"Most were representatives of organisations within the community and it brought together a pretty good cross-section,'' she said.

Also discussed at Monday's meeting was the establishment of a Neighbourhood Watch group.

"While persons have been monitoring the movements of those at the Royal Naval Field, we wanted a more methodical approach to prevent burn-out from occurring.

"After a while, people get used to seeing the area clear, other priorities come up and their interest gets lost. We do have a pool of resources. Rather than addressing it in a haphazard manner, if we can set up a schedule and get to a point where people are delegated to a committee, we can ensure the plans are followed through.'' Mrs. Simmons said the group is intent on addressing social problems, working to involve the entire community in the project.

"We need to include all sectors of the community including the drug population,'' she said. "Unless they are involved, they will never claim ownership (to the group). All support can't be effective until it's been embraced by the community as a whole.'' Mrs. Simmons said that in order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to educate everyone, including those looking for community support services to make them aware and knowledgeable on existing programmes.

"We have to sensitise the community to the nature of problems,'' she said.

"that drug abuse is symptomatic of underlying problems we have. As Chief Insp. Ramsay has stated, Sandys is a unique population.

"In Warwick, people from other parishes frequently use hang-outs as drop-in areas. Here, it's not realistic to think the people will leave the parish. If one area is not available, others can spring up. In addition to consistent neighbourhood watch, it's important to address the needs of the people and reduce the need for substance abuse. If it's just the traffic flow to the field that's being reduced, we'll just follow people around in a circle forever.'' The group was presented with information on drugs by Mrs. Gwen Robinson of Addiction Services.

"The position she took was that it was all well and good to be out there, but we need to know about the problem we're addressing.

Mrs. Simmons said Mrs. Robinson explained about the drugs -- how they're used and how to pick up on indications that they're being used by family members.

She gave their nicknames and also their market value.

"She stressed to family members the sense of frustration and isolation felt and examined legal substance abuse and its effects on children caused by our attitudes and behavioural patterns.'' She said the selected groups will meet before SAD's next meeting held at the last Monday of each month.

One such committee, she said was a special events committee, planning events for all of the community.

"We're interested in forming a liaison group within the community and youth development services,'' she said. "It's important to put a tentative project we can work toward. Often community members like to have practical things to work toward.''