February 3, 2024 | By Deb Everts | oleantimesherald.com
SALAMANCA — A local group is on a mission to rid the city of Salamanca of the drugs that are claiming the lives of their loved ones.
Seneca & Salamanca Mothers Against Drugs (SSMAD) is a grassroots group that advocates stopping illegal drug sales and drug use in the Salamanca community.
Their goal is to drive out the dealers, as well as to help provide the public with addiction and recovery resources. They hope to create awareness about the dangers the community faces as a result of the increased drug epidemic.
Spokesperson Jody Clark said people often say they didn’t realize how bad the drug activity is in Salamanca, and she doesn’t know how anyone could miss the ongoing problem.
Clark initially got involved with SSMAD because there was a significant drug house in her neighborhood a few years ago. She said it was emotionally and mentally stressful for everyone. They didn’t feel safe and they felt helpless.
“I saw what drugs did in my neighborhood and how it affected our families. It wasn’t healthy and I don’t feel anybody should have to live that way,” she said. “We were watching this stuff go on and there was no way to stop it.”
Clark finally took action, contacting different law enforcement agencies. She said her neighbors started working together and were able to give law enforcement enough information to finally get enough evidence to get more busts in the neighborhood.
In the meantime, Clark also worked with the Seneca Nation regarding the terms of property leases in the city. She said things like code violations and, especially, illegal activity are not allowed under the lease.
“This is an opportunity to put a stop to this,” she said. “Our group takes a lot of criticism from some people saying, ‘If these users want drugs, they’ll find a way to get them and nobody is going to stop them.’ We know that’s true, but we don’t need to let drugs be so available. There are way too many drug houses in this town.”
Last April, the Seneca Nation newsletter published an article written by President Rickey Armstrong Sr. addressing lease violations. At that time, he said the Nation had received a list of close to 50 houses from the city of Salamanca that appeared to not have been lived in or maintained for quite some time. He said these types of houses are frequently broken into by vagrants or drug dealers and become havens for criminal activity.
Armstrong’s staff, the lease administration, marshal department and DPW continue to work collaboratively on this project to remedy what has become commonly known as “zombie houses” in the city of Salamanca.
SSMAD is part of an umbrella organization called Seneca Mothers Against Drug Dealers (SMADD), which was initiated in the Cattaraugus Territory and specifically targets drug dealers. Clark said they act independently and support each other.
“Myself and a few other people brought the movement to the Allegany Territory because we recognized its cause was for everybody’s benefit,” she said. “We named our separate group Seneca & Salamanca Mothers Against Drugs because we knew it would make an impact on not only Seneca mothers but everyone in Salamanca.”
In support of SSMAD’s mission to banish drugs from the city and surrounding area, the Seneca Salamanca Chamber of Commerce hosted a magic/comedy show, “Trading Drugs for Laughter” on Jan. 27 at the Ray Evans Seneca Theater.
A portion of the proceeds from the show were be donated to the group to fund a memory garden to honor the living memories of those they have lost to addiction. Clark said the garden will create a meaningful space where their memories can live on.
Clark said SMADD is looking for more community involvement. She said Salamanca needs to start acting like a community again — supporting each other and watching out for each other.
“Too many times we hear people get led down the wrong path because there’s nothing to do, so having family-friendly options in the community that are non-alcoholic or anything like that are important,” she said. “The chamber is doing a wonderful thing by sponsoring these types of activities, and I think they are going to keep on doing family entertainment on a regular basis. Hopefully, the community will see the benefit in supporting these types of events that are right in our own backyard.”
Both groups are looking for family-friendly event ideas that don’t take months to plan. Clark said SSMAD wants to bring these types of events to fruition to make sure there are safe, family activities for people to do in the area.
SSMAD is currently working on a snowman-making contest for the public to enjoy. The contest will be announced on their Facebook page.
