Meth, Shattered Lives, Part 4B

FOR SOME, RECOVERY STARTS WITH FIRST STEP

The Okmulgee County sheriff's department car turned right, away from the
lake, and followed the winding asphalt road until it grew invisible in a
thicket of trees.

Chad Ashley, who had slept during most of the drive from Okmulgee, sat up
as the cruiser used for the county's Drug Abuse Resistance Education
(D.A.R.E.) program rolled to a stop at the front door of the First Step for
Men work camp near Lake Stanley Draper in southeast Oklahoma City.

The first step Ashley took that day was made in shackles and chains, and
the anger and resentment inside him did nothing to quicken his pace.

A methamphetamine manufacturer, Ashley, 28, faced three life sentences and
assumed it would be just a matter of time before he wound up in prison with
his father or floating face down in a river like his brother-in-law, who
Ashley believed died of hypothermia trying to elude police.

That was three months ago. Tonight, there are no chains on his feet and no
evidence of bitterness in his heart as he stands before a roomful of fellow
addicts.

His weight shifts from one leg to another as the words race out of his mouth:

"It's a beautiful day, and I love each and every one of you.

"Six months is a long time to stay here, and lot of guys have got excuses
about why they don't want to stick it out - their family, friends, the dog
died. But if you're straight with them, they'll be straight with you, and
you can make it.

"If I can help you come to a higher power, I will. If you have a hard time
speaking, hell, let me know, I'll speak for you."

The men cheer, and Ashley sits back down so someone else can share
something about themselves and their addiction with the group.

While the pay is low at First Step - $1 a day - the moral support is
unending. It flows like iced tea on a hot Oklahoma summer day and melts the
ice in a roomful of men society has grown to shun.

Not everyone's thirst gets quenched as completely as Ashley's. For many of
the 85 residents, First Step's six-month work-therapy program is their last
chance to avoid prison or regain control of their life, but it doesn't mean
they will stay.

First Step doesn't charge for its services. Participants work it off in
jobs ranging from picking up trash to painting to yard work. The men are up
at 5 o'clock six days a week, and on the job by 8 a.m. Every night except
Sunday, they have to attend Alcoholics Anonymous and 12 Step meetings.

At First Step, the long-standing traditions of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics
Anonymous are held dear. Common welfare comes first and personal recovery
depends on unity and anonymity.

The rules also are strict and uncompromising. Some appear petty - no
cigarette butts are allowed to be dropped on the grounds - but the goal is
to get the men to accept personal responsibility and help build their
self-respect.

It's estimated that about one-third of the men who complete First Step
remain clean and sober, First Step director Gary Hill said. Most
"graduates" leave with a job and better sense of themselves, he said.

(SIDEBAR)

About First Step

A six-month recovery facility formed in 1987 under the direction of the
Oklahoma City Metro Alliance for Safer Cities. The women's facility, which
operates a nine-month program, was opened in 1990.

Serves men and women who have been court-ordered and who are indigent or
whose families no longer want them.

Provides an atmosphere for drug and alcohol recovery emphasizing the
12-Step Program of Alcoholics Anonymous. Of 300 previous admissions to the
men's program, 43 percent of the men listed alcohol as their drug of
choice. Meth was second at 24 percent.