Criminal justice programs must focus resources on preventing addicted high-rate offenders from continuing to abuse drugs and alcohol. For many inmates, the criminal justice system provides a first chance for substance abuse treatment, prevention education, counseling, and testing. his can help break the cycles of addiction, disease transmission, and incarceration. These services also can benefit the families of inmates and the larger community through reduced drug-associated crime, reduced disease transmission, and reduced medical and social welfare costs.

Clean, Sober & Positive presents important messages of hope and self-reliance and works well in prison settings. Inmates need to know about HIV, whether they are infected with it, and how to reduce their risks. They also need to know about drug and

Clean, Sober & Positive is effective in:

We offer Clean, Sober & Positive to correctional institutions at a low cost because of the importance of bringing this video to as many inmates as possible. The video is currently in use at correctional facilities in Arkansas, Maryland, Iowa, New Mexico, West Virginia, and Texas. The distribution of Clean, Sober & Positive in our prisons and jails provides a valuable service to inmates, their families, and the community at large.

This is the second of a series of articles about Lamont Board Members. Lora McCray is a graduate of the University of Georgia (1985), the University of Washington Law School (1988), and has been licensed to practice law since 1988. She also has a Masters in Applied Anthropology from the University of Memphis (1998). Lora worked as a Program manager at Fannie Mae for four years. Now she works as a Senior Development Associate at the McAuley Institute.

LP Reel News: How did you come to become a Board member of Lamont Productions?

Lora: My first exposure to Lamont Productions was the premiere of Southwest Remembered - A Story of Urban Renewal (the Hirshorn Gallery, January 1991). I was asked to help Lamont get ready for the event. I had never known filmmakers before. When I saw the film, I was impressed with its quality and the importance of the story it told. At the same time, I was examining my life, and knew that I wanted to become more involved in ensuring that the voices of people who typically are not allowed to have a voice, are heard. SWE resonated.

LP Reel News: How do Lamont's other projects work for you?

Lora: One of Lamont's other projects, Clean, Sober and Positive, an amazing piece, is a perfect anthropological piece of work. It looks at the lives of five different people, and through their experiences, makes very strong points about recovery and living with HIV. Everyone I have asked to look at this video has come away from it with important messages in their minds and their hearts. They feel these people's lives and understand what the video is trying to say. That kind of impact is part of what is wonderful about the work that Lamont does.

I clicked with Sara, the main character of Lamont's first nondocumentary piece, Sara, the first time I saw a clip. It's a lesbian love story/midlife coming of age piece, but I still identified with her. I was captured by the story and the imagery. It also is a story about empowerment and community. I think it is a great project and our excellent film team has done a fabulous job with it.

Lamont's film on the history of public housing also reinforces my basic philosophy of the importance of having a voice and my commitment to ensuring that unsung voices are heard. Film is an excellent medium for this, because it is accessible to almost everyone.

LF Reel News: How have you contributed to Lamont Productions?

Lora: The activities I have been primarily involved in are doing research on the public housing film and fundraising. Fundraising is Lamont's biggest challenge. It not only is difficult to find funding sources, there is a really delicate balance required to stay true to what you really want to do and attract funding sources too. Lamont has stayed true to itself, but has not always attracted the funding.

LP Reel News: How would you like us to describe you?

Lora: I am a lawyer, I used to work for a civil rights consulting firm, and my life has a theme: equality, justice, people, and empowerment. If you look at every single thing I have done, it is all there somewhere.

On Saturday, April 6, 2002, our first film, SOUTHWEST REMEMBERED: A Story of Urban Renewal, was featured at a salon sponsored by the Humanities Council of Washington, DC ("Transforming Lives Through the Power of the Humanities") at the Southwest Branch Library. The audience Was largely made up of residents of SW who are again facing urban renewal some 50 years after the massive urban renewal featured in this film. Humanities Program Director Michon Boston noted afterwards that the showing "was a reminder of the power of the film medium and its ability to influence decision making and civic involvement."

Southwest Remembered looks at a period of urban renewal that began in the 1950s in Washington, DC's smallest quadrant and which changed the face and character of the area forever. Yet the issues of this film are contemporary and vital, and the film continues to generate lively discussion and community involvement in issues of urban renewal and redevelopment.

Southwest Remembered is available for loan at the Humanities Councit of Washington, DC, at the Martin Luther King Library, and at many branch libraries. It is available for sale through Lamont Productions and through Tapeworm Video Distributors. The film is shown regularly on public TV and the film and an accompanying studyguide are incorporated into the DC Public Schools social studies curriculum.