BR WOMAN PRAISED AS FAITH-BASED SUCCESS

WASHINGTON -- Tonja Myles of Baton Rouge, a 39-year-old recovered drug
addict, Tuesday became President Bush's living example of faith-based
programs that try to solve social problems.

Myles sat one seat from first lady Laura Bush and on the front row of the
spectators' gallery in the U.S. House chamber to witness the president's
State of the Union address. The White House circulated Myles' autobiography
to the media.

Myles and her husband, Darren, lead two programs.

Their "A Day of Celebration" ministry sends teams of counselors into the
community. They also have a Friday evening program for people dealing with
substance abuse, eating disorders, divorce, marital discord and other
problems. They provide meals and program materials from their own funds, and
also receive support from the Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge.

The Friday program is called "Set Free Indeed," a title drawn from a
biblical in passage John 8:36 that states, "Whom the Son has set free, he is
free indeed." It is a 12-step spiritual-based program. It draws heavily on
Tonja Myles' story of her recovery from an addiction to crack cocaine, but
it also uses licensed, professional counselors.

"I've been off of drugs for 17 years," Myles said Tuesday afternoon, as she
waited in her hotel room and prepared to be driven, a few hours later, to
the White House. "When God delivered me from addiction, I made a vow to him
that I'd help as many people as I can."

"I should have been dead, but through the grace of God, I am alive today to
tell my story . I was molested as a young kid, when I was 7," Myles said. "I
started doing drugs at an early age . I've been raped . I did sexual favors
to pay for my drugs . I signed myself into a mental hospital . I tried to
kill myself. . My life spun out of control."

"My parents did not raise me this way," and they tried to talk her out of a
destructive lifestyle, Myles said. Her parents are Wilbert and Hattie
Richard of Baton Rouge. "I love them, and I thank my parents, and they are
proud of me," she said.

According to The Associated Press, Myles attended LSU and Southern
University and studied law enforcement. She was a military police officer in
the U.S. Army for nine years and ran a catering service before being called
up for Desert Storm.

In 2001, Myles testified before a committee in the Legislature in support of
a resolution branding Charles Darwin's theory of evolution as racist. She
testified that she hoped Louisiana would become the first state "that asks
people to discuss this theory." The resolution died in the state Senate.

Myles' husband is an ordained minister, and a plumber.

Tonja Myles said the couple met 12 years ago in church, and "we began
ministering together." The couple joined the Healing Place Church about 13
months ago. They believe in the church's motto, "A Healing Place for Hurting
People," Myles said.

Myles said she came to the White House's attention through an article in The
Advocate about the couples' social work. She said Jim Towey, head of Bush's
Faith-Based Initiatives and Community Outreach programs, called twice last
week.

"He said he always looks for examples of faith-based recovery programs that
were doing some good, and he came across the article, and it affected him .
He asked if I would be embarrassed to tell the world what I've been through.
I said 'no,'" Myles said.

"That was Thursday and Friday of last week," she said. "Then Sunday, I got a
phone call asking if we would like to fly up to be the guest of the
president at the State of the Union . I'm like, laughing. Like, 'Yeah,
really.'"

Then life became a whirlwind to get ready for the trip, "and it's been
wonderful," Myles said.

Still, on Monday night, she spent time talking with people in distress.
"This one girl --- I told her what I would be doing, and she said, 'Oh my
God. You're talking to me on the telephone, and this is happening to you?' I
said, 'Well, this is what I do. This (the Washington trip) is an honor, but
the ministry is what got us there'. "

The Myleses flew to Washington Tuesday morning, checked into a hotel and
were taken about 6 p.m. to the White House.

According to The Associated Press, Bush focused on Myles in connection with
his request that Congress give federal dollars to religious organizations
that run drug-treatment programs. Bush's plan would give addicts vouchers
allowing them to seek help at any treatment center, including those run by
religious organizations, two senior White House staffers told the AP.

Bush did not provide those details in his speech, but he did propose "a new
$600 million program to help an additional 300,000 Americans receive
treatment over the next three year."

Congressional Democrats accused Bush of telling only part of the story when
he used Myles to support his anti-drug rhetoric.

In a statement released immediately before the speech, U.S. Senate Minority
Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said that Bush's fiscal '03 budget had cut $45
million from drug treatment programs, and that the Bush administration also
has cut $600 million from a community-based policing program and $310
million from police patrols and anti-crime and anti-drug programs in public
housing projects.

Myles and other citizen-guests seated with the first lady are "deserving
Americans," Daschle's statement said, "but conspicuously absent from his
(Bush's) speech will be crucial details about how his policies affect these
heroes and millions of their fellow Americans."

While not mentioned specifically by name, Myles smiled broadly when Bush
said "our nation is blessed with recovery programs that do amazing work. One
of them is found at the Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, La."

The president's attention is exciting and appreciated, she said, "but the
thing I hope is that this means we can help more people."