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Community Outreach Programs

Community outreach is an integral part of the problem-solving and crime prevention strategies which are essential for crime reduction and public safety.

The U.S.Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Louisiana's (USAO, EDLA) community outreach strategy enables our office to engage directly with neighborhood associations, faith-based agencies, nonprofit organizations, and local residents to develop positive relationships with federal, state and local law enforcement and judicial agencies, with the ultimate goal to collaborate on strategies to defend the interests and rights of our citizens.

Staff members from the USAO, EDLA routinely attend meetings throughout the community to share its mission and vision and offer programming designed to educate the public on a myriad of crime prevention topics.  Programs consist of specially designed programs with goals to increase community awareness of the federal criminal justice system and to educate citizens about how they can avoid becoming victims of crime. 

For any information on any program listed on this site, please contact:

Shane M. Jones

U.S. Attorney’s Office, EDLA

Community Outreach Coordinator

504-680-3111

 shane.jones@usdoj.gov



 

See our initiatives below

Chasing the Dragon: The Life of an Opioid Addict (A component of Opioid Abuse Prevention Outreach)

Community Outreach Collaborations

Project LEAD (Legal Enrichment and Decision Making)

 

Chasing the Dragon: The Life of an Opioid Addict

A Component of Opioid Abuse Prevention Outreach

Opioid and prescription drug abuse have become America's fastest-growing drug problem. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), overdose deaths involving prescription opioids have quadrupled since 1999, and the most common drugs involved in prescription opioid overdose deaths include Methadone, OxyContin, and Vicodin. Misuse and abuse are also potential dangers. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), everyday, over 1,000 people are treated in emergency departments for misusing prescription opioids. In 2014, nearly 2 million Americans abused or were dependent on prescription opioids.

As part of the U.S. Department of Justice National Heroin and Opioid Abuse Awareness campaign, this Office in collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducts a series of screenings of Chasing the Dragon: the Life of an Opioid Addict, https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/newss-chasing-the-dragon-the-life-of.../view, at Eastern District of Louisiana area schools and treatment centers. The screenings are followed by a panel discussion from law enforcement, the parish coroner, service providers and family members of victims of opioid overdose.

Chasing The Dragon

The Chasing the Dragon documentary gives a face to the lurking evil of opiate addiction that statistics measure to be at epidemic levels. Federal, state, and local law enforcement officers are asking educational institutions across the country to inform teenagers of the hazards of drug abuse and expose the truth about the opiate epidemic.

The purpose of this film and follow-up activities is to raise awareness of drug abuse and the profound downward spiral that can be caused by opiate addiction. The film content has been provided by actual people who abused opiates or whose children abused opiates. They selflessly shared their unfiltered, impassioned, unscripted, and painful accounts to try to stop other people from taking drugs and destroying lives.

 

Community Outreach Collaborations

Components of Project Safe Childhood, Project Safe Neighborhood and Elder Justice Initatives

Community Outreach Collaborations/Partnerships consist of ongoing presentations regarding crime prevention and victim services with a focus on Project Safe Childhood ,Project Safe Neighborhood and Elder Justice initiatives.

  • Internet/Social Media Safety Presentations Component of Project Safe Childhood)
  • Youth Engagement Life Skills Program (Component of Project Safe Neighborhood)
  • Elder Abuse Prevention Programming (Component of the Elder Justice Initiaitve)

 

Project L.E.A.D

A Component of Project Safe Neighborhood

Project LEAD (Legal Enrichment And Decision-making) was established in 1993 by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office in partnership with the Constitutional Rights Foundation.  The goal of Project LEAD is to teach children that the choices they make today can affect their lives forever. The USAO has tailored Project LEAD’s curriculum to focus on situations that youth in the Eastern District of Louisiana area are likely to encounter. 

Updated April 22, 2020