On October 24th, ROI Principal, David Nellis submitted testimony to DC City Councilmember Vincent Orange’s Committee on Business, Consumer and Regulatory Affairs in support of four bills submitted by Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander currently under the Committee's consideration.
David is a founding member of the Ward 7 Safe & Drug-free Communities Coalition (W7SDCC), a nonprofit organization formed in 2012 to combat alcohol and drug use and abuse by at-risk youth in DC’s embattled Ward 7, and continues to serve W7SDCC’s board in a volunteer, advisory capacity. The Coalition funded the first-ever, Ward 7-centric, primary research into drug and alcohol use and abuse by minors there to gauge the causes for and motivations of youth substance abuse and to develop near-term solutions to those challenges.
The results of the Coalition’s research led its members to work closely with Councilmember Alexander to craft four pieces of legislation aimed at increasing enforcement of laws now in place prohibiting sales of alcohol to minors, increasing the penalties for infractions against those laws and reducing the amount of liquor store display window advertising that, studies show, is especially seductive to youth.
David and ROI remains committed to supporting W7SDCC’s mission and those of other, essential, community organizations working to make all of our region a better and safer place for all.
Read David’s complete testimony:
