Building BLOCK (BB) is a diverse and dynamic national coalition of parents, crime survivors, children, therapists, teachers, ministers, prison and drug policy reformers, human rights workers, and concerned citizens, uniting to support public policies that foster safer streets for our children, families, and communities at large. Our goals are
to inform citizens, provide networking and resources to protect and strengthen communities, and stimulate public debate on the many issues that impact the effects of violence in our lives.
Our Mission ...
Building BLOCK is a grassroots organization, empowering citizens through education and providing support for survivors of violence. By prioritizing public health and safety over matters of personal morality, BB will motivate positive change and build better lives for our communities and kids -- one block at a time.
Christopher Largen -
Christopher Largen is an internationally published novelist, journalist, screenwriter, public speaker, and social activist. His books and articles have been featured in hundreds of print and web-based venues including Village Voice, Nashville Scene, The Hill, Fort Worth Weekly, Eat the State, Ragged Edge, and the Denton Scramble. As a survivor of child sexual abuse and child pornography, he has shared his story of trauma and recovery with fellow survivors, college audiences, police officers, therapists and legislators.
55 years old from Fort Worth , Texas , Howard Wooldridge spent 18 years as a police officer, retiring as a detective. As a road officer, he quickly learned that alcohol killed and injured more people than all the illicit drugs combined. As a detective, he learned that 75% of his case load was generated by the prohibition of drugs. It was this detective experience which caused him to call for the legalization and regulation of all drugs.
Howard is a graduate of Michigan State University. He has traveled extensively and is fluent in 4 languages. His love of travel, adventure and horses came together in 2003 when he and his horse Misty completed a 3,100-mile, unsupported ride from Georgia to Oregon. In 2005 he and Misty, with help from Sam, rode from Los Angeles to New York City. Like a modern Paul Revere, they spread the message that drug prohibition was a disastrous policy. He is a member of the Long Riders Guild and a Fellow of the Royal Geographic.
Jacqueline Patterson is the proud mother of four amazing children whom she strives to teach that America is the land of freedom, opportunity, and responsibility. She aspires to be fashion designer, fully committed to the idea more people should wear their hearts on their sleeves. Jacqueline is an artist, and her painting philosophy is courage and vitality in life and on the canvas. Her paintings reflect the beauty that she has found in the darkest moments of her life
Jacqueline is currently working on an educational campaign regarding medical cannabis, including advocating for legal access in her home state of Missouri. She is a survivor of childhood trauma, disability discrimination, and sexual assault. Jacqueline dedicates her work with Building Block to her beloved husband Travis - may his soul be finally at peace - and to her children, so that they may grow to learn true commitment to building a more just and compassionate world.
Anyone who attempts to use the information contained in this website to commit a criminal act can be subject to criminal prosecution and/or civil action. Building BLOCK condemns the attempt or use of physical violence, extortion or harassment against anyone. Such actions are not in the spirit of Building BLOCK and could put your own personal safety at risk, as well as the safety of the community at large.
That said, vigilantism is also a natural consequence of a system which perpetuates learned helplessness and injustice. We believe that a true system of justice must empower citizens and encourage participation in lawful remedies and solutions.
We hope visitors will use our site to further empower themselves and others in the employment of every legal means at our disposal, to reduce the amount and the impact of violence in our communities. Although not perfect, the American justice system already grants "we the people" the power to make necessary changes. At Building BLOCK, we believe that it's up to every American to take responsibility for using that power in the most constructive, compassionate and legal ways possible.
Jahara Brown -
Jahara Brown is currently the administrator for a forensic and clinical psychologist. She is also a volunteer Sexual Assault Counselor for The Lighthouse of Baldwin County.
She achieved a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice Administration, and currently attends graduate school at Boston University, seeking a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice. She has volunteered with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) for Southwest Missouri. In this capacity, she advocated for children removed from their homes due to abuse, neglect or abandonment.
Jahara also was a victim advocate through The Victim Center in Springfield, Missouri. She provided emotional support and information to victims; acted as a liaison between the hospital staff and victim; supported victim during law enforcement intervention; provided victims better understanding of legal procedures; and educated victims with information regarding their victimization and The Victim Centers' services.
Contact information for organizations with which Jahara Brown is involved:
Erin wears many hats. She's wife to Bill Hildebrandt, mom to five beautiful kids, activist, artist, legally registered Oregon medical marijuana patient, public speaker, and an internationally published writer. She co-founded Parents Ending Prohibition, and her writing has been printed in Mothering Magazine, New York's Newsday, and Canada's National Post, among many others. Erin has appeared in TV and radio broadcasts, including Baltimore's WBAL and WBAI in New York. Speaking as a survivor of child sexual abuse, Erin also appeared on the Geraldo Rivera show.
Jennifer largen is a teacher and child welfare advocate who survived sexual assault by her mother and stepfather. After her parents were sentenced to two decades in prison for their crimes, Jennifer spent six years in a neglectful and abusive state foster care system. She was featured on Dallas-Fort Worth's Wednesday's Child (on Channel 8). Her story has since been shared with fellow survivors, professors, child welfare workers, and public officials. She is the mother of two beautiful and precocious children who continue every day to teach her more than she could ever teach them.
Al Byrne -
Al Byrne is co-founder and Secretary-Treasurer of Patients Out of Time, a national non-profit, devoted to educating health care professionals and the general public about the therapeutic uses of marijuana. He works with the five remaining federally supplied Cannabis patients, who are enrolled in the Compassionate Individual New Drug Program and served on the Board of Directors of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws from 1989 to 1994.
Mr. Byrne is the United States representative of patient advocacy for the European based International Academy of Cannabis Medicine. He has written articles, essays and opinion pieces for varied journals and publications and has been interviewed by dozens of radio and television stations. He is a consultant to several state representatives actively engaged in writing legislation to reform Cannabis prohibition.
Mr. Byrne is a retired Naval officer of 24 years service (Lcdr). For 5 years he worked as an outreach counselor in Appalachia to Vietnam veterans for the Agent Orange Class Assistance Program and is a unique source for information concerning cannabis use for PTSD affected veterans.
Bill Hildebrandt is the husband of Erin and father of their 5 wonderful kids. He earned a BA in Psychology from Cornell University and has combined working in the restaurant industry with his passion for peace and justice issues over the last fifteen years in various capacities.
As a restaurant manager in Maryland, Bill worked to implement a workplace program to assist prison inmates as they prepare to re-enter society. More recently he has been working in Oregon, assisting in the construction of workplace policies that prioritize health and safety, while protecting employees from the injustice of discrimination.
On the subject of American drug policy, Bill has been published in newspapers across the country and appeared on several radio programs. Speaking about the trauma of childhood sexual abuse and its effects on adult survivors, he also appeared on the Geraldo Rivera show.
Friends of BB
Nora Callahan -
Nora Callahan, Executive Director of The November Coalition, was raising two children and co-owner of an electrical contracting firm when her brother Gary Callahan was indicted for a drug conspiracy in 1989. His resulting 27-year prison sentence prompted her in 1997 to heed the request of prisoners at Oxford Federal Correctional Facility in Wisconsin, "Help us organize drug war prisoners and their loved ones to oppose this war."
Raised within a family of war veterans and law enforcement, following high school in southern California, Nora attended Lutheran Bible Institute in Seattle, Washington and began raising a family.
"I thought that the government was on the citizen's side, that lawmakers and law enforcement were instituted to protect us. My brother lost at trial. By that time I'd realized my earlier, naive premise wasn't always true. Our family was victimized by injustice; later I would learn there were millions of us who felt the same way. I began to study, and found ordinary people looming large in every social justice struggle. That's been a comfort. My brother lost at trial, but sometimes losers win."
Nora Callahan has been noted for her grassroots leadership, sharing the 1998 Thomas Paine Award given by the Thomas Paine Society of Pasadena, California that recognizes and rewards individuals whose efforts encourage principles Thomas Paine struggled to promote. At the 14th annual international conference of the Drug Policy Alliance in 2001, Nora was presented the Robert C. Randall Award for Achievement in the Field of Citizen Action, honoring those citizens making democracy work in the difficult area of drug law and policy reform.
