NEW COURT PROGRAM HELPS WOMAN LEAVE LIFE OF DRUGS

Kerriann Evans has lived a tormented life: binges of smoking crack cocaine
followed by attempts to kick the habit.

Fourteen times she tried to give up crack, seeking treatment in drug rehab.
Fourteen times she failed.

Until Friday. That's when Evans, 41, graduated from Charleston County's
Family Recovery Court, a nonprofit treatment program with a zero-tolerance
approach to drug relapse. If she failed to pass, chances were the Mount
Pleasant woman would never see her children again.

Evans' addiction dates back 20 years. Her crack habit got so bad that she
quit her day job so she could drive a taxi at night. The difference was
having instant cash in her hand versus having to wait for a paycheck. "My
habit or my work," she said. "I had to let one go." The treatment program
helped her put her old life behind her. "They really support you. It's
unbelievable," she said. Evans' two daughters, Brianna, 11, and Faith, 3,
played a large part in her reaching sobriety. When her habit took over, the
Department of Social Services took her girls away and gave custody to
Evans' sister. Evans was not allowed to see them.

"I chose to go on with my life as it was," she said, which meant feeding
her craving for drugs."They really support you. It's unbelievable," she
said. Evans' two daughters, Brianna, 11, and Faith, 3, played a large part
in her reaching sobriety. When her habit took over, the Department of
Social Services took them away and gave custody to Evans' sister. Evans was
not allowed to see them.

But being cut off from her kids and the end of an abusive relationship with
a boyfriend finally prompted her to seek help. Family Recovery Court was a
last option.

The 3-year-old program is not an official arm of government but is done as
a treatment with the blessing of the family court and other service
agencies. As a treatment program, it is heavily structured to first get the
women who are enrolled off their drug dependency, then to help them learn
how to live a clean and normal life.

Meetings are held often; so is drug testing. Tests can be ordered as many
as five times a week to ensure someone is clean. As the woman's conduct
improves, so does her access to her kids.

"They drug-tested me all the time," Evans said. "I can't thank these people
enough." Because the court is not an arm of government, it depends on
private donations. The program normally takes 12 to 18 months to complete.
Evans finished in 10 months. "She was the most committed," said court
coordinator Mardi Lempeck. So far, 22 women have entered the program. Five
have dropped out, deciding "crack cocaine was more important than their
children," Lempeck said. Family Court Judge Paul Garfinkel is a proponent
of the court. "It works," he said, adding that similar programs at the
national level have three times the success rate of other recovery efforts.
"It's really an accountability court," he said.

Evans said her drug life is gone forever and she'll never need another
rehab. "This is 15 -- and final," she said.