DRUG PROGRAM IS GOOD FOR THE COMMUNITY

I was surprised at the amount of calls and letters I received in response
to my column of July 19, which concerned a recovering addict and his
program to help others break their drug addiction. I received inquiries
from people who wanted to know how they could help, as well as two calls
from people who wanted information on how they could enter the program.

In my interview with Keith Smith, I learned about the drug culture in
Fayetteville. He is from New York City and was introduced to drugs at an
early age. He told me he sold drugs while attending junior high school,
started using heroin and cocaine at about age 15 and did so for over 20 years.

He joined the military in 1975 and was stationed at Fort Bragg, where he
continued to sell drugs. After three years he left the service and decided
to remain in the area. That was when he really got into the drug culture by
getting to know the dealers and users around Fayetteville.

I asked him when he knew he had a drug problem. His answer: "Not until
about 20 years later." He also said, "You cannot correct a problem until
you admit to yourself that you have one." Most addicts do not feel they
have a problem. The stock answer you receive from an addict is, "I can quit
any time I want."

Smith said one of the main points that he learned during his rehabilitation
and recovery was that many addicts remain addicts because of their loved
ones. These are the spouses, friends and family members who are "enablers,"
who feel they love the addict and want to help him. The only way to help an
addict is to love him enough to let him go.

That's why in many programs addicts are told they have to hit the very
bottom before the help can do them any good. As long as they know there is
someone there to pick them up when they fall, they will never make the
effort to pick themselves up and walk alone.

Smith and Roma Turner -- the lady who gave him his first job, after his
rehabilitation -- started a residential center in downtown Fayetteville for
recovering addicts. The key rule to enter the program is that you must be
completely off all drugs.

Many times dealers have contacted Smith to tell him one of his clients at
the center has bought drugs. Even though the dealers are in the business to
sell drugs, they say they want to see his program succeed. They say they
are proud of his recovery.

Turner has returned to teaching but still helps with the program. Phil
Melvin and Larry Covington now run the center. It is somewhat of a halfway
house for recovering addicts. The residents are expected to work and
contribute part of their wages each week for the upkeep of the home. The
center is funded entirely by donations from people who want to help. The
chance to change

Programs that deal with the problems of alcohol and drug addicts are just
as important to the image of a city as programs that deal with art and
culture. Many cities, to improve their image, move addicts, street people
and prostitutes to less-visible sections. This does not eliminate the
problem; it just moves it along.

The program that Keith Smith and Roma Turner have started gives addicts a
chance to change their lives. No one believes these types of programs are
going to eliminate the problem. But for every person they are able to turn
around, that means there's less of a chance that person will wind up on
welfare or in jail. And there's more of a chance that person will become a
productive citizen.

I know these types of stories do not get a lot of news coverage. But they
are important, because they affect all of us in this community. The sooner
we get involved in some way in helping or promoting programs such as this
one, the sooner we all can call Fayetteville an All-America City.