Community Health Assessment : Cliffside Park

Introduction to topic: At 19 Ronald Evans got life in prison without parole for conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine. Scott Earle got 25 years in Prison for providing an informant at a bar with a hook up for painkillers, even though the judge agreed the punishment did not fit the crime. Timothy Tyler, a 25 years old who had long struggled with schizophrenia and addiction was caught distributing LSD at a grateful dead concerts and was sentenced to life in prison because of two previous drug related misdemeanors.

As a resident in Fresh Meadows for twenty years, conducting a community health assessment was an opportunity to learn more about the neighborhood. Located in the northeastern section of New York 's Queens County, this small town was first named “Flushing Meadows” before the American Revolution. This was due to large areas of wet meadows that were also partially located in Flushing. Nonetheless, Fresh Meadows has become home to many with its diverse community in cultures and ages, and activities for the local.

may be sentenced to lengthy jail terms. This is an abuse of drug laws in a great nation. The

Here is the list of people. Dustin Malone, 28, Chambersburg; charged with unlawful delivery of MDMA, possession of Oxycodone with intent to deliver, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and criminal conspiracy. Brandon Malone, 23, Chambersburg; charged with unlawful delivery of Oxycodone and criminal use of a communications facility. Loretta McQuay, 48, Mercersburg; charged with two counts of unlawful delivery of Oxycodone, two counts of criminal use of a communications facility and criminal conspiracy. Brandon Moragne-El, 31, Woodlawn, Md.; charged with unlawful delivery of heroin, possession of heroin with intent to deliver and criminal use of a communications facility. Ricky Armentrout, 52, Greencastle; charged with two counts of unlawful delivery of marijuana and two counts of criminal use of a communications facility. Dwayne Banks, 31, Chambersburg; charged with two counts of unlawful delivery of heroin and two counts of criminal use of a communications facility. Joshua Ingream, 28, Greencastle; charged with two counts of unlawful delivery of heroin and two counts of criminal use of a communications facility. Mikal Thomas, 19, Chambersburg; charged with two counts of unlawful delivery of heroin and criminal use of a communications facility. Raleek Stevens, 19, Fayetteville; charged with six counts of unlawful delivery of heroin and five counts of criminal use of a communications facility. Rocky Lindsey, 41, Brooklyn, N.Y.; charged with possession of heroin with intent to

The well rated Durham Police force is introducing a plan to distribute Class A drugs, Heroin, to long time users. The hope is by providing the drugs and a safe way and place for them to be used, it will reduce crime by eliminating the externalities that comes with addicts trying to gain possession and using the drugs including crimes and other adverse

North Lawndale is one of the 77 community areas in Chicago, located in the western area of the city between South Lawndale, Garfield Park, the Near West Side and Cicero (Steans Family Foundation, 2014).

This report starts off with an overview of drug courts are, then moves into the overall problem with drug control in the United States. They talk about the history and the rise in drug offenses during the 1980’s causing the prison populations to rise. When comparing the rise of drug offenses, they found it was both state and federal level. The growth of drug offenses became approximately one in every 198 persons was incarcerated. About nine years later, the first drug court was established. Courts, jails, and prisons were seeing a pattern with the number of low level repeat drug offenders and street dealers starting to cause problems with overcrowding . The drug court movement was a shift from law enforcement’s emphasis on reducing drug use.

According to Findlaw, under current Massachusetts law, possession of heroine is a felony punishable by 2 years with subsequent offenses calling for 5-16 years. There is serious doubt that prison time helps an addicted drug user, with many believing that the opposite is actually true. It is not uncommon for a drug addict in prison to continue being addicted to drugs as well as becoming involved with more serious crime. With this in mind, police departments have begun to put in a strong effort to arrest individuals who are involved with the distribution of heroin. I do believe that this is an important thing to do. The people who hold the supply and sell it are bigger criminals than the addicts. By arresting the people higher up in the

A major influence on health in a community is the availability of services and opportunities within the neighborhood. Public health can be further influenced by the social environments. Accessibility to health care along with education and employment opportunities are fundamental factors to be considered (Riegelman & Kirkwood, 2015). These elements create both advantages and disadvantages for those living within the neighborhood. If we want to improve public health outcomes, we must consider and evaluate these along with many other contributing factors.

I currently reside in Denver County, Colorado. I have chosen to assess and analyze this community for this assignment. Denver, Colorado is located east of the Eastern Foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Denver County is centrally located within the city of Denver, Colorado and includes the Denver International Airport located north-east of the city. The elevation of this county is 5,277 feet and therefore is nicknamed the “Mile-High City”. Denver County contains 154.9 square miles of land with a large amount of parks and rivers, of which 1.4 miles is water. (City and County of Denver, 2011).

A community health assessment is a fundamental instrument of public health practice. Its objective is to depict the health of the community, by presenting information on health standing, community health needs, resources, and epidemiologic and other studies of present local health problems. It seeks to recognize target populations that may be at augmented risk of poor health results and to increase a better understanding of their needs, as well as evaluates the larger community surroundings and how it relate to the health of people. It also identifies those areas where better information is desired, particularly information on health differences amid different subpopulations, quality of health care, and the incidence and severity of disabilities in the population. The Community Health Assessment is the foundation for all local public health development, giving the local health component the instance to recognize and network with key community leaders, businesses and concerned residents about health priorities and concerns. This information shapes the foundation of improving the health status of the community by way of a strategic plan (The Municipal Public Health Services Plan Community Health Assessment Guidance and Format, n.d.).

Essex County is located in the North eastern part of new jersey. The history of Essex county dates back to 1666 when 30 families from Connecticut established settlement along the banks of Passaic river. Essex County was officially established in 1682 by east jersey legislature. Essex County is 129.631 square miles. The Geopolitical communities are designed by natural or human made boundaries (Maurer and Smith, 2009). It holds community safer for the residents and the governing body.

A Community Health Epidemiology Study with Community Diagnosis HGT Community Health Practicum/HAT1 Erika J. Schnell, R.N. 11/05/2012 Western Governor’s University

“At the Federal level, prisoners incarcerated on a drug charge comprise half of the prison population, while the number of drug offenders in state prisons has increased thirteen-fold since 1980. Most of these people are not high-level actors in the drug trade, and most have no prior criminal record for a violent offense.” (sentencingpolicy.org)

Drug abuse and crime is not a new concept and the statistics around the problem have continued to rise. According to (Office of Justice Programs, 2011), there were an estimated 1,846,400 state and local arrests for drug abuse in the United States. Additionally, 17 percent of state prisoners and 18 percent of federal inmates said they committed their current offense to obtain money for drugs (Office of Justice Programs, 2011). Based on this information, we can conclude that our criminal justice systems are saturated with drug abusers. The United States has the highest imprisonment rate and about 83 percent of arrests are for possession of illegal drugs (Prisons & Drug Offenders, 2011). Based on these figures, I can conclude that we should be more concerned about solving the drug abusers problems and showing them an alternative lifestyle rather than strict penalty of long term incarceration which will inevitably challenge their ability to be fully functioning citizens after release.