Recovery Rally Helps Addicts Start New Year Sober

Ken Grimes began the last 17 years the way he spent most of his time --
drinking or taking drugs. But this New Year's weekend he was clean, sober
and wide awake to the knowledge that beating his addictions in 2000 is more
than a resolution. For him, it's a matter of life and death.

``2000 for me is a wake-up call. It's a chance to become a member of
society and help another individual,'' Grimes said yesterday at a fair
designed to help people who want to recover from drug habits and many other
problems.

The first-time event, known as the Recovery Rally, featured entertainment
from singers and dance troupes yesterday afternoon at a downtown mall.

The main attraction was a group of booths offering advice to people dealing
with difficulties including poor diet, serious debt and mental illness.

Pat Egan, an organizer of the event, said it was taking place on the first
weekend of 2000 partly to give people a chance to make a psychological
break with their past.

A ``resolution wall,'' where visitors could write out their commitments to
a healthier lifestyle, stood at one end of the exhibits. ``To be drug
free,'' read one resolution. Others, in children's handwriting, were less
serious. ``To smile more,'' said one. ``No cursing,'' read another.

Grimes, 38, was addicted to crack cocaine and was living on the street in
July when he read about Y-Haven, a comprehensive rehabilitation program for
homeless men. He was accepted into the program a few months ago and said
his craving for drugs is gone.

Next week he will go to vocational school -- his first formal education in
20 years -- to train for a new job as a carpenter.

``I've been really looking forward to it,'' he said with a smile.

LeBaron McDonald, another formerly homeless man, has been with the Y-Haven
program for a month. His goal for 2000 is to obtain a commercial driver's
license through the program.

``The year 2000 is very meaningful to me,'' he said. ``It's a time when I
have to do what I've got to do to finish the program and then deal with
life on life's terms.''