TRAGEDY LEADS TO UNITY

A Teen's Death, A Mother's Determination And A Church's Concern Set Off A
Community's War On Drugs.

PROSPECT -- The suicide of a 19-year-old boy spurred 550 people from the
county to a series of anti-drug speeches at the Prospect United Methodist
Church.

Myles Brewington, who was 19, shot himself to death on Dec. 23 in a trailer
known to be a drug hangout, said his mother, Sandra Brewington. She
believes her son abused cocaine, and that led to his suicide. Investigators
are still running drug tests on his blood, she said.

Myles' suicide followed his cousin's, Brewington said. He died 14 months
earlier in the same trailer. She suspects drugs. "There are still so many
unanswered questions," Sandra Brewington said.

Myles, a student at Purnell Swett High School, used to sing the national
anthem at basketball games. He wrote his own music. His grandfather is a
preacher. Myles went to church up to the last months of his life.

She said Myles likely started abusing cocaine two years ago.

"It just went downhill," she said.

Myles was six weeks away from graduation when he slammed a student's head
into a bus window, which lead to his being expelled. He died two months later.

"He was so talented," his mother said. "The fact that he was so well-known
and the fact that his grandfather was a preacher, the fact that he was
raised in the church, that caused a huge concern."

"It woke up everybody."

The Prospect United Methodist Church met three days after Myles' death to
talk about how it could keep its young members away from drugs, said Harold
Jacobs, the church's director of youth and music. The church held a
drug-awareness service last Tuesday and invited all congregations from
Robeson County.

Countywide, up to 1,800 children are expected to be counseled by the Palmer
Prevention Inc., which helps children avoid drugs, said Mark Schwarze, a
counselor at Palmer. That would be an increase of 500 from last year.

About 550 people from churches all around Robeson County attended the
service. The service featured speeches from Sheriff Glenn Maynor, District
Attorney Johnson Britt and Thomas Norton, Palmer executive director.

"It seems to have opened a tremendous flood gate," said Mattheue Locklear,
the chair of the church's council of ministry.

The 550 at the church learned about such programs as Palmer's counseling
services and Pembroke's chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous. If church members
need help, the staff can now point members to these services.

The church scheduled another meeting for Feb. 20, Locklear said. Meanwhile,
members are creating Prospect's first community watch group.

"The lord is leading us, and we just have to catch up now," he said.

"The church is recognizing that we are going to have to come together as a
community and start learning from each other about how to deal with alcohol
and drug abuse," Schwarze said. "The church has the families there. They
know the communities. They are able to identify families that are
experiencing these problems."

Tuesday's drug service was the largest of its kind for the Prospect church,
Jacobs said.

"We do pretty well telling young children that thou shall not lie. There is
nothing in there that says thou shall not use drugs. It's very easy for the
church to teach the 10 commandments and leave off the things that are
hitting children left and right," Jacobs said.