Porter Goss: “Sadly, the problem is familiar: children are being seduced by drugs, crime, and guns because they have little hope of…”

“Sadly, the problem is familiar: children are being seduced by drugs, crime, and guns because they have little hope of escaping the poverty, despair, and violence of their daily lives. Faced with this destructive trend, southwest Florida communities are fighting back--and winning. The success through academic and recreational support program [STARS] is an innovative approach to providing at-risk children between the ages of 8 and 14 with alternatives to juvenile crime, drugs, and violence. STARS gives kids a place to go after schools where learning, friendly athletic competition, and positive role models replace street corners, drug trading, and gangs. This program is the product of an unprecedented alliance between the city of Fort Myers, an independent county school board, the school district of Lee County, the State of Florida, the Federal Government, private nonprofit organizations, and the private-corporate sector of the local community. STARS, an urban recreational and academic program like those envisioned by H.R. 4034, has been so successful that it is justly credited with the steady decline of juvenile crime in the city of Fort Myers.”