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moment of why government matters. This is why older people are
more likely to be engaged voters, but the truth is there are potential
“ah ha” moments all around us. If you trip on the sidewalk because
it’s uneven, that’s government. If you get in a car accident because
the streets aren’t safe, that’s government too. If you want more street
lights in your neighborhood, that’s government as well. So I think
the best thing to do is find out what young people care about, are
thinking about, talking about, complaining about – from college
debt, LGBTQ rights, even sidewalks – and pointing out to them
that that is all government. That’s why you vote, and that’s why you
should write a letter to your respective elected official about what
they care about. Once people have that “ah ha” moment, it never
goes away. People who voted in two or three elections in a row will
vote every year for the rest of their lives, because once you are awake
to why government matters you never fall back asleep.
ME
MB
ERS
HIP
What inspired you to draft the Public Health and Safety
Approach to Drugs and Drug Policy for your community?
Well, we had a problem, and it is my job to find answers. I was tired
of not giving answers – of telling mothers who lost their daughters,
“Sorry, there’s nothing we can do.” I was tired of telling fathers who
found needles in their front lawn that public drug consumption
is something we have to live with. I was embarrassed. I am the
child of an addict and I know exactly how the war on drugs and
criminalizing addiction has failed, and yet I am sitting in this
YEO F r o n t l i n e N e w s • S u m m e r 2016 • PG 10
Svante Myrick
system that continues to prosecute this failed war on drugs. So two
years ago, I got 45 people together from all over the community and
asked them, “Do you see what I see – a failed system?” I also asked if
they wanted to work with me to create a new system, and they said
yes to both. They went to work for two years, going to focus groups,
conducting surveys and interviews, doing research on approaches
that worked in other places, and came back with the Ithaca plan. I
am very proud of it. I think it’s the most forward-thinking approach
to drug policy that this country has ever seen.
Can you tell me about your “Coffee with the Chief ” initiative and
what that is doing for the community?
Every Wednesday morning we get together at a different
neighborhood coffee shop for a very informal gathering. It’s a way
for people who always had something they wanted to tell me or
the police chief but never had a chance – it’s a way to empower
those people instead of the people who already feel empowered to
walk into city hall and give us their two cents. It’s also a way to
serve the communities that don’t get to see me or the chief unless
something goes wrong. We think the best way to solve crises is
to have good relationships with our constituents before the crisis
happens. We have discussions about different policy initiatives
and great ideas have come out of them on increasing community
policing, creating relationships, and bridging the divide. We get a
lot of useful information from it and I think the community benefits
from getting access to us.
Where do you see the YEO Network in ten years?
In 10 years I think we will have our first YEO president or possibly
vice president, which I think will inevitably change the organization.
Being a member for as long as I have been now, I’ve seen it go from
a group of just city council members and school board members to
also having congressmen and state senators and assembly members.
These are folks that are not only young now but were once those
city council people and have now moved up in rank. The more that
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