DRUG CZAR TOURS CITY RECOVERY CENTER

The nation's drug czar toured an all-female addiction recovery house
in Charleston.

John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy, met with local officials and residents of the Rea of
Hope Fellowship Home on Lee Street along with Congresswoman Shelley
Moore Capito.

One reason for Monday's visit was to acquaint Walters with local
addiction recovery facilities, Capito said. Walters was appointed drug
czar in 2001.

Capito was in Charleston during Congress' summer district work
session, when politicians work the home front. She is running for
re-election against former West Virginia Democratic Party Chairman
Mike Callaghan.

The Rea of Hope house opened more than a year ago. The house receives
about 15 percent of its funding from the federal government, Director
Marie Beaver said. Another 40 percent comes from the state.

With that money, the house shelters women who are kicking drugs or
alcohol provided the women attend meetings, obey a curfew and have a
full-time job, or are enrolled in school, Beaver said.

Resident April Davis told press and politicians about fighting to
straighten her life out and rekindle her relationship with her young
son. The last time he saw Davis, she was in prison, the Raleigh County
native said.

"He trusts me now and knows Mommy's not going anywhere," she said,
adding that she's paid all her legal fines and nearly has her driver's
license back.

"I came here to get my life back together because I was a mess. Now
I'm good."

"This house offers an opportunity for people to grow, for women to
grow," said Charleston Mayor Danny Jones. His office helps fund the
program and was instrumental in launching Rea of Hope, which resides
in a large, refurbished house on Charleston's East End.

"A lot of people were worried about what this place would look like,"
Jones said. "I think it's the best-looking house on the street."

For all of Rea of Hope's good, it "doesn't touch what the real need
is," Capito said. "If you ask Marie [Beaver], she could probably fill
10 houses."

Before officials gathered for group shots, Walters said the house
represents the United States' core value of "helping your brothers and
sisters." Then he listed some addiction-fighting initiatives in which
Capito partakes.

Afterward, Walters donated a rose bush from the White House Rose
Garden to the house.