Calif. Campaign to Help Young Meth Lab Victims July 13, 2005
News Summary
A police officer in Riverside, Calif., is organizing an effort to provide a mobile refuge to children caught up in raids on methamphetamine labs, which often are run by their parents or relatives.The Los Angeles Times reported July 13 that because of the toxic chemicals used in meth production, children in homes used as meth labs often are subjected to being stripped outdoors and sprayed down with hoses, then held in police cars while their parents are taken to prison.
To ease such traumas, Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigator Tom Salisbury has worked to raise $30,000 to purchase an RV that will be used to provide some privacy to children during raids. The vehicle is filled with new clothes, toys, snacks, videos, and DVDs, and is equipped with a shower and tub to bathe children. It sometimes takes up to 12 hours for children to be placed in housing and get medical care after a raid, and often all of their meth-tainted toys and clothes must be destroyed.
Three other "community resources vehicles" also are being built. "I just wanted to provide a safe haven for them," said John Barnes, a Perris, Calif., businessman who helped Salisbury raise the money.
Salisbury said he has personally witnessed up to 2,000 meth-lab raids involving children during the past seven years. Many of the children have lived in squalid and dangerous conditions. "Most places, we didn't even want to be inside, yet these kids were living there for extended periods," he said.
Salisbury said he got the idea for the sheltering RV during a camping trip with his own kids.
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