BERT WOOD PUTS HIS HEART INTO HIS WORK AT A DRUG-TREATMENT AGENCY

At one point in his life, Bert Wood wanted to be an ordained minister. Now,
he sees himself a "minister without a collar."

"I think I am a minister," Wood said. "In my heart of hearts, I think this,
what I'm doing - helping others - it feels good," he said raising his right
hand in a fist and gently tapping his heart.

Wood's calling is to fight the ravages of addiction.

As the president and chief executive of the Partnership for a Drug-Free
North Carolina, Wood oversees a staff of 222 and has an annual budget of
more than $7.7 million. The agency, also known as STEP One Partnership, was
founded in 1974. It grew from just one office on Hawthorne Road to 10
treatment offices and numerous prevention and case-management offices from
Asheville to Durham.

In treatment services alone, STEP One, a private, nonprofit agency, helps
1,100 families in Forsyth County each year. Services include a residential
treatment center for adults and adolescents, adult substance-abuse
treatment, prevention services, and mental-health services for children.

Wood, who came to STEP One in 1989, is particularly proud of two of the
agency's accomplishments: It was the first treatment program in the state
to provide child care and the second in the state to provide services in
Spanish.

He said that many challenges lie ahead in the substance-abuse and
mental-health arena, including funding and assuring that people have equal
access to treatment.

About 25 percent of his clients relapse. "You can see that as a failure or
as a confirmation that they need services, and it's a challenge to do it
better and differently," he said. "I liken STEP One to a sanctuary, meaning
it is a place of safety without fear or retribution or rejection. This is a
place of hospitality; a place they are cared for and made well."

A 60-year-old recovering heroin addict, who spoke on the condition that his
name not be used, said he owes his new life to a STEP One counselor. He's
among the 8 percent of the agency's clients who receive methadone as part
of a treatment plan that includes psychotherapy and attendance at
support-group meetings.

"My life now is a complete turnaround, I've got more trust from my wife
now," the man said. "The main thing about STEP One is my counselor -
without him I would not be where I'm at. He's taught me how to take care of
myself, and I never had a counselor who took time with me and who had faith
in me."

Part of Wood's job is teaching children to avoid drugs in the first place.

On a recent blistering Sunday afternoon, Wood stood on a platform to open
this year's "Wet, Wild and Free" drug-free appreciation celebration at Wet
'n Wild Emerald Pointe Water Park in Greensboro. With sweat dripping down
his face and soaking his white T-shirt, he walked through the crowd,
shaking hands and welcoming the more than 900 young people and their
families who attended.

As in earlier years, the gathering drew winners of an essay-writing contest
for children ages 4 through 14. Children and teenagers write why they want
to stay drug-free.

"Talking about (drugs) to the kids is not glitzy; it's not sexy," Wood
said. He pointed to a group of teenagers performing on stage. "This is.
Activities such as these is what kids and families need more of."

Wood, 50, was born in Winston-Salem and grew up as a Southern Baptist in
Mount Airy. He earned an associate's degree from Wingate College, where he
was most interested in psychology. His life's journey, though, was about to
change.

"After returning home from a wonderful experience in New York, working in
vacation Bible schools, working in the inner-city drop-in center in Buffalo
and building a log cabin at a camp, I felt that religion and philosophy
would be more helpful, meaningful and relevant for me and what I wanted to
do than a major in psychology."

He went on to Wake Forest University with a new double major and then
earned a master's in divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological
Seminar in 1980.

While he was still studying, he was offered a position as director of
Christian Social Ministries for a multicounty region in Rochester, N.Y. But
the offer was withdrawn after he told the ministry that he was separated
from his wife.

The memory and the pain of that rejection still lingers.

"I cried so hard, I popped blood vessels in my eyes. The anguish was so
great that God was not available to me when I needed it ... it was
horrifically hurtful, the sense of aloneness and despair."

Wood, who eventually became a Presbyterian, knows that addicts suffer from
rejection, too.

"It's my calling ... to believe in restorative justice and to help give a
voice to those who are outcast," he said.

Scott Wilson, a friend for more than 20 years, said Wood's passion for and
commitment to helping others affected him so much that he has dedicated his
life to counseling. "I love Bert, he took a chance on me by giving me my
first job in the helping profession," Wilson said.

"I love his heart and his wicked humor," said Wilson, now a counselor at
Surry Community College. "He will pick up for the person who needs a
helping hand, and he will needle you regardless of how important you are."

Last week, Wood and his administrative and finance staff moved back to the
STEP One treatment center on Fourth Street after about two years on the
23rd floor of the Winston-Salem Tower. The move brings him closer to the
people he serves.

"One of my philosophies is to manage by presence, so walking around the
building in the morning, and sitting down in the lobby waiting for persons
to be served, it gets you back to the reason of being in this business,"
Wood said.

"Our organization is in a life-saving business, and there's daily good news
about reducing stigma, assisting people in recovery, empowering young
people to make healthy decisions," he said. "And unlike the Maytag repair
man, unfortunately, there will always be business."