FORMER ADDICT ATTACKS ADDICTIONS

Tonja Myles has never been to prison, but she does know what it's like to be
behind bars -- well, at least mentally. Whereas most prisoners are
physically in correctional facilities, the cell she lived in was her own
mind. The 39-year-old Zachary resident used to be bound by marijuana,
cocaine, crack and even prostitution in her teen to early adult years. She
says she was molested at age 7. She credits God with coming into her life at
age 21 and setting her free from the reckless lifestyle that had her bound
and suicidal.

Now saved and 18 years removed from the hard life she lived, Myles' calendar
is filled with speaking engagements, including one at the Louisiana State
Penitentiary at Angola on July 15. There, she will speak at the "Resource
Day" program for inmates approaching their release dates.

Her message is a life-sustaining word of hope and reassurance that a person
who is freed from prison, or any type of bondage, "is free indeed."

This "free indeed" message that she packs around in her heart like a
vacationer toting luggage is sure to complement the prison's "Resource Day"
like a hand to a glove.

"The Resource Day is one of the components that shows that we're preparing
the guy to go home," says Cathy Fontenot, assistant warden at the Angola
prison. "They'll not only have a job to go to, but support as well. That's
the one thing we see that is so common. If you don't have that support
system, you're just probably not going to make it."

And what better way is there to prepare a guy to go home than to invite
someone to the facility to speak a life-changing word into his heart,
someone with whom he can relate?

Inmates preparing to be released from prison can rest assured that Myles is
the model to emulate. Her every word of encouragement serves as a support
system that makes true freedom -- in the mind as well as physical freedom --
tangible, something very much within reach.

If one person can be molested as a child, then turn to a life of
promiscuity, then turn to drugs, and then make plans for a suicide, yet find
deliverance after seeking the strength to come out of that hell on Earth,
then anybody can do it.

Oh, by the way, as Myles put it, it doesn't hurt to "have a praying
grandmother," too. "Pray for your loved ones," Myles emphasizes.

Because she's been "set free indeed," Myles' mission in life is to assist
those who are struggling with addiction, destructive behavior and any other
form of bondage.

Set Free Indeed, the program that Myles established with her husband,
Darren, 12 years ago, was lauded by President Bush in January when he
referred to it in his State of the Union address, calling it a recovery
program that "does amazing work." On July 3, Myles will speak at a Bible
study session at the White House.

While many of us might pat Myles on the back and call her work amazing,
she's quick to say that through her personal tribulation came her mission.
"Addiction almost destroyed me. . I know how it is to live in that bondage.
I hate it. I hate it. And I will die getting as many people as I can set
free."

"I have known Tonja for a number of years. Her life is evidence of the
transforming power of an almighty God," says state Rep. Sharon
Weston-Broome, D-Baton Rouge, a friend of Myles'. "Tonja has used her life's
experiences to reach out and offer a response to those in need . those who
face similar challenges with substance abuse and addiction. Her energy is
contagious. Tonja is a visionary who sees beyond impossibilities. She's
producing results in the lives of those she encounters. We need more
servants like Tonja."

Myles says she doesn't like to hear people sit in support groups saying they
are addicts in recovery. She says that once a person has been freed of
addiction, it's final.

"We believe when you allow the spirit of God to set you free from addiction
or any kind of destructive behavior that you can truly be set free," Myles
said. "There are a lot of different programs that tell you different, (but)
my name is Tonja, and I'm not an alcoholic, I'm not an addict. God set me
free."