DIRECTOR TAKES ON DRUG PROGRAM

After taking her first full-time job at an alternative high school,
CarolAnn Duncan has taken an active interest in drugs. Her students
provided her with marijuana, their bongs and joints.

"I think my students taught me more than I taught them," Duncan said. "They
said, 'CarolAnn is too stupid and naive, we need to teach her.'"

After working in education for 25 years and seeing what drugs can do to the
students she worked with, CarolAnn is perfectly suited for her new job as
House of Hope director.

The House of Hope is a treatment center where women battling addiction are
able to go and receive individual and group treatment. Residents are taught
life skills and how to be better mothers for their children. Many of their
children are behind in their development as well, so there are classes to
help them catch up to other children their age.

"You need to teach those moms to teach their kids," Duncan said. "Because
those kids are so far behind, because the drug addicts haven't done
anything with their kids. A lot of them don't have a clue what to do with
their kids, and it doesn't come naturally because the drugs come first."

After Duncan built a trusting relationship with her first group of students
at the alternative high school, they were able to teach her what life is
like for a drug addict and what signs to look for.

"For the first year, it was kind of scary, I would go out every break to
see if my tires were slashed," Duncan said. "Then, after that, we learned
to trust each other a little bit more. Then they taught me about how they
bought and sold drugs on the streets. If a student came to class on drugs
they would tell me what the student was on and the symptoms to look for to
be able to tell which drugs a person is on."

After getting a master's degree and an administration certificate in night
school, her husband's job took them to Idaho where she took a job as a
principal at a large high school. She learned quickly it was hard to keep
track of more than 2,200 students and what they were doing.

"With these large high schools, you lose the kids," Duncan lamented. "I
cared about the kids, so it about drove me nuts. When you have so many to
deal with you lose them through the cracks."

Duncan decided she wanted to be in a smaller school and she wanted to be
involved with younger kids so she could help catch the drug problem at an
earlier stage and prevent them from starting on drugs.

"All the drug addicts I worked with started in elementary, but if you talk
to the elementary teachers they say
'we don't have any drugs'," Duncan
said. "I thought to myself,
'if I got the chance I would drop down to an
elementary school to see why they can't figure out that the kids are on
drugs, and see if I could stop them at an early age.'"

When her husband's job sent them back to Utah she found an opening at an
elementary school.

"That was my first experience seeing the kids and working with the parents
that were drug addicts, which is exactly what I am doing now at the House
of Hope," Duncan said. "I am working with those kids and parents--which is
where it needs to be [addressed]. That is what I am passionate about."

After working at the elementary school level for four years, she took a job
as the children services director at the House of Hope last March.

"Now I realize that it is [most important] teaching those drug addicts how
to teach their children," Duncan said. "A thought goes through my head, and
then all of a sudden here I am. My big thing there is to teach them to be
better mothers. If we are going to break the cycle, we are going to break
it by them teaching their kids."

The passion that drives her plan is helping to produce positive results.

"CarolAnn has taught me how to be a better mom," said Katie, who will soon
graduate from the program. Katie has an 18-month old son living with her at
the House of Hope. "She helped me to help my son to get his mom back. She
helped me to get my life back; when I came in here I didn't have a life.
She showed me things that I need to do for my boy that I didn't realize
needed to be done with a baby."

While many of the clients credit CarolAnn and her loving sternness for
their progress, she is slow to take credit for herself and quick to credit
the program.

"You can tell this is a good program, because you can see the change in our
clients," Duncan said. "I think that is how you judge a good program. If it
is helping to change people then it is good."

Volunteers can help in any area they have interest in, from childcare to
bookkeeping. House of Hope encourages those wanting to volunteer or make a
donation to Director CarolAnn Duncan.