THOSE WHO HAD BATTLES WITH ALCOHOL IN YOUTH MEET AT AA CONFERENCE

Ashley had her first alcoholic drink at age 12 and a year later was
drinking every day. She went to her first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting
at 14.

"When I drank I felt great," said the 17-year-old Woodlands girl. "I
loved everyone around me and finally loved myself."

Her first attempt at sobriety lasted only a couple months and then she
went back to drinking. "For the next two years I kept on trying to get
back that first happy feeling, that first buzz."

Ashley was one of about 2,500 people of all ages attending the 42nd
annual International Conference of Young People in Alcoholics
Anonymous over the weekend at the Hyatt Regency downtown.

While she was still drinking, Ashley said, she eventually found
herself living on the streets with a shaved head.

One day in May 1997, she was sitting on the curb across from the
school she had dropped out of and saw a group of students picking up
leaves for a science project.

"I thought, `What a bunch of idiots, picking up leaves.' Then I looked
at myself and felt incredibly lonely. I decided I would do absolutely
anything to quit living that lifestyle and be as happy as those people
picking up leaves."

She went through a monthlong rehabilitation program and has been sober
since.

"I came to this conference to help people who are new and to realize
how huge this program is," she said.

Most conference participants were in their 20s but ages ranged from 13
to about 70, said Mark, a 37-year-old Houston resident and conference
chairman.

"You can't be too young to be an alcoholic and find recovery," said
Mark, who has been sober since he was 19.

Some of the older conference participants were part of an informal
group who met 30 years ago at the Philadelphia gathering and have been
attending regularly since then.

In keeping with the Alcoholics Anonymous tradition of anonymity,
participants identify themselves only by their first names in meetings
and to news media.

But there is nothing stand-offish about a crowd of recovering
alcoholics who can lavish hugs on total strangers.

In a workshop Saturday, as speakers introduced themselves, a group of
men in the audience sang out in response, "We love you lots and lots
and lots and whole bunches."

The intensity of the effort to stay sober one day at a time
could be seen in round-the-clock workshops that included
"Fear As a Stepping Stone" at 3 a.m. Saturday and
"Sponsorship: Leading by Example" at 4 a.m. Sunday.

Neil, a 22-year-old recovering alcoholic and drug abuser from Houston,
started smoking marijuana at age 14 and drinking a year later.

By the time he was 18, he had wrecked four cars, been in eight
accidents, lost his insurance and been arrested more than once.

"I'm real lucky I didn't die or kill anybody," said Neil, who has
turned his life around through AA and spent the weekend at the
conference. He is now a full-time student, works 25 hours a week and
attends AA meetings five times a week.

Alcoholics Anonymous, which was started in 1935, developed its first
young people's groups 10 years later in Los Angeles and Philadelphia.
The first international young people's conference was in 1957 with
participants from the United States and Canada. Conferences now draw
attendees from throughout the United States and various foreign countries.

The number of young alcoholics who turn to AA for help is growing,
according to information provided at the conference.

In the Houston area, there are 1,800 AA meetings each week with about
30 targeted to young people. But no meeting has age
requirements.

Information about Alcoholics Anonymous in the Houston area is
available 24 hours a day from AA members at 713-686-6300.