RECOVERING DRUG ADDICTS FIND SUCCESS AT MISSION

Ira, Harvel and Rowdyshare a bond some might interpret as a burden.

Yet they call it a blessing.

That was the Christmas message the three men, each recovering drug addicts,
delivered Wednesday in the confines of their current home: downtown
Mobile's Waterfront Rescue Mission.

"A life-saver and a life-changer," Ira called it, as he sat in the
Mission's small chapel.

For Harvel, it's "a place of refuge."

"So many others in society just wrote me off, because of the bad decisions
I've made," explained the 33-year-old crack cocaine addict. "But here they
give me a chance, and I'm thankful to have that during the holidays."

Said Rowdy, "There's a lot of love here. We help each other out."

The three men, who asked not to be identified by last name, are part of the
Mission's alcohol and drug rehabilitation program, which charts chemically
dependent men, many of them homeless, on a six-month course toward a
productive, sober lifestyle.

Such is the description offered by the Rev. Paul Meredith, director of the
Mission and pastor of New Fellowship Baptist Church in Grand Bay. But as
Meredith is quick to point out, the rehab course is just part of the
interdenominational Christian center's larger aim of service and outreach
to the Gulf Coast's homeless and needy community.

That effort was in full gear Wednesday, when Meredith coordinated about 100
volunteers, staff members and Mission residents to serve Christmas dinner
to about 200 people, many homeless, others physically or financially unable
to feast at home, still more who just wanted good holiday company.

The Salvation Army also served a holiday spread at its Dauphin Street
location in midtown. An organizer there said he could not provide an exact
attendance count, but described the line as "steady for four hours."

The meals came after Waterfront Mission workers and residents -- including
Ira, Harvel and Rowdy -- spent the morning with Mobile police officers,
delivering almost 500 meals to elderly residents and other shut-ins.

For those being served, the occasion marked a celebration perhaps not
possible any other way.

For volunteers, it was a chance to give during the holiday season, rather
than receive.

Both groups identified the scene as a live display of the true Christmas
spirit.

"I think Christmas has become so controlled by marketing, just a ploy to go
out and spend money and get gifts," said Fred Leonard, a Waterfront Mission
volunteer from Meredith's church in Grand Bay.

"I see kids with piles of toys they don't even play with, and then we go
out and buy them more toys," he continued. "That's not what Christmas is
really about. It's about the love of Christ. I think God calls us to serve
through that love, and that's what we have here today."

Added his wife, Madelyn Leonard, "It's just been so great to see all these
people, to have such great interaction with volunteers and the people we're
serving. You couldn't have more fun than we've had here today."

Ira shared that enthusiasm Wednesday, but he hastened to point out that he
and others like him would fill the center's two State Street buildings even
when the holiday attention fades away.

"I think a lot of people just don't have any clue about what some people
have to deal with," he said, briefly recounting the "long road" that led
him from New York to a shelter for addicts in Mobile. "They just don't
understand what a blessing it is to have a warm meal, a place to sleep and
place to take a hot shower."

Meredith said he did not know exactly how many homeless people occupy
Mobile streets, but offered "about 300" as a "conservative estimate."

The rehab program, he said, serves up to 27 men at a time, with most
spending a minimum of six months at the shelter, sometimes followed by time
in the a job training program in Pensacola, where there is also a
Waterfront Mission facility for women and children.

Also, the downtown Mobile location has 18 bunks for "transients" and floor
mats for at least 10 more. On average, Meredith said, the Mission hosts 30
to 40 men each night, with that number climbing during winter months.
Transients are served two meals a day, while rehab participants receive three.

"We don't turn anyone away," Meredith said, though he stressed the
Mission's effort to help the homeless and needy provide for themselves,
rather than depending long-term on the shelter.

"A man can walk in off the street with nothing but the clothes on his
back," Meredith said. "If he will apply himself, he will walk out of here
in six months with a life worth living."

For his part, Rowdy said that's a welcome challenge. "Some days you want to
leave," he said. "It's not easy. It's a hard road -- but I'm gonna make it."