ROOM FOR RECOVERY

A Church Program Gives Addicts Space To Rebuild Their Lives

TAMPA - Julio Ayala was embraced in a prayer circle in the front yard
of New Life Pentecostal Church of God. As of Saturday, he was clean
and sober for 107 days.

Once arrested on drug charges, Ayala faced a lengthy prison sentence.
But the church at 1611 E. Bougainvillea Ave., with court approval,
gave him a second chance at New Beginnings, a nearby year-old
residential recovery home operated by church members.

On Saturday, Ayala, who must still serve a year of house arrest, was
giving back to the community as a volunteer helping to feed and clothe
needy families in the neighborhood northwest of Busch Gardens.

"This is part of their recovery," church Pastor Tom Atchison
said.

Ayala came close to losing all he had to a cocaine habit. He made good
money as a salesman, but he was 10 months behind on his mortgage.
Electricity was cut off six times.

"My daughter was watching Winnie the Pooh when the power went out,"
Ayala, 37, said. "She started crying."

Paying his electric bill wasn't on his agenda. With cash in his
pocket, he bought drugs and got high.

At New Beginnings, based at Chilkoot Avenue, residents are required to
find jobs and pay rent. They also attend Narcotics Anonymous and
Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Church attendance is encouraged for
residents and their families who, in some cases, may have been
estranged, Atchison said.

From a base of about 30 church members, the congregation now has about
180 who attend Sunday services, he said.

"The church grew, not because of the people in the program, but
because of the people who have been touched by people in the
program," Atchison said.

New Beginnings began almost on impulse when the church bought a house
across from it and opened it to four women recovering from addictions.
It's now being converted into a Sunday school.

"We really bought the house because it was a good deal," Atchison
said. "It set the church on fire."

When five homes in a neighborhood about four blocks from the church
became available, church members bought them, and expanded their
program. New Beginnings receives no grants, and only a few donations,
Atchison said.

The program currently cares for 45 men and 11 women, who stay from six
months to a year.

Atchison says the neighbors have been supportive because the church
has encouraged law enforcement to drive drug dealers away.

Andre Jackson, a certified nursing assistant for the Agency for
Community Treatment Services, is also a neighbor of New Beginnings.
ACTS is one of several agencies that make referrals to New Beginnings.

The single father of two children, ages 4 and 11, bought his house a
few weeks before New Beginnings moved in behind him. They share a fence.

"I think they're excellent neighbors," he said of the residents.
"And having that presence is keeping the drugs out of the
neighborhood. I haven't heard any complaints."

With budget cuts ending some recovery programs and forcing others to
cut back on services, New Beginnings is an example of churches
stepping in to fill the void, said Greg Kaufman, ACTS clinical
director in Tampa.

"Since 9/11, there's been a decrease in beds in secular programs like
ours," Kaufman said. "But that loss has been offset by an increase
in faith-based programs stepping up to the plate. New Beginnings is a
great example of that."

With government funding going toward homeland security issues, "We
really depend on the church community."

Kaufman said New Beginnings is reaching out to a population that isn't
too popular.

"I think recovering addicted people are really the lepers of the 21st
century. They're the untouchables," he said. "And for those coming
off prison or jail time, it's even worse."

Laura Ball, 18, had nowhere else to go - except prison. No other
program would take her, she said.

She had been through several rehabilitation programs without success.
She began drinking at age 9, and then smoking marijuana. She has tried
every drug. Before dropping out of school at 15, she was a good
student making good grades.

She has been clean and sober for 130 days. This time, Ball believes
she's found peace and God at New Beginnings. She's working as a sales
clerk part-time and working to earn her high school equivalency
diploma. College is in her future.

"I have a better spiritual relationship than I've ever had," Ball
said.