UNION BAPTIST PROGRAM TRIES TO TURN LIVES AROUND

Former Drug Dealers, Users Discover That They Can Put
Mistakes And Bad Choices Behind

Patrick Thomas said he was raised in church but did most of his
learning on the streets.

For nearly 20 years, Thomas said he sold marijuana and crack cocaine.
He carried a gun and served time for the crimes he committed.

This past weekend, Thomas was one of many former drug dealers and
users who worked together with Union Baptist Church to hold the
four-day Corner to Corner conference. It drew former drug users and
dealers, families affected by drugs and other substance-abuse
problems, and those who simply wanted to show support for people
looking to change the direction of their lives.

"We've all got a past," said Thomas, who said he is now clean from
drugs. "No matter whether you're white, black, Hispanic, elderly,
young, whether you live in the suburbs or the projects, everybody
knows somebody affected by drugs or addiction. This conference was
just what we needed. It gave people out there a chance to hear from
other people who could honestly say, 'Hey, I've been where you are.'"

The conference included a variety of workshops such as "The Hip-Hop
Culture and My Life," "Cleaning Up Your Record" and "Making the
Transition to Do It the Right Way," run by religious, educational and
community leaders.

The conference also included a job fair, luncheons, worship services,
and testimonies from former drug dealers and people affected by drugs.

"A lot of the guys I used to be out there on the streets with were at
this conference," Thomas said. "Some came voluntarily; some were
coerced to come. When you're out there selling, you say a prayer,
'God, let me get through this.' It was a blessing to see those guys
wanting to come into the church and wanting to look for another way. A
lot of t-hese guys sell drugs to fit in or support their families.
This conference showed them they don't have to. There are better ways."

Corner to Corner grew from an idea of the Rev. Sir Walter Mack Jr.,
Union Baptist's pastor. He drove home one Sunday afternoon after a
service and passed a man dealing drugs in a car outside the church and
realized the depth of the community's drug problem.

"I thought and I prayed for an answer," Mack said. "I knew there has
to be a way for us to make our religion ... relevant."

That thought led to the formation of a "C2C" committee, established to
organize and get the word out about the conference.

Thomas headed the committee, which included a team of 10 volunteers
who visited neighborhoods, knocking on doors and passing out flyers to
dealers and users on their own turf.

The committee also enlisted the help of officials, rehabilitation
centers and judges in the area. Ten judges agreed to make mandatory
attendance of the conference part of an offender's probationary
status, and rehabilitation centers also made attendance mandatory for
their current residents.

Those who attended the conference "graduated" to loud cheers and
applause from about 1,200 people at yesterday morning's service.

"Many of these people have never completed anything in their life,"
Mack said. "For the attendees, their self-esteem was raised, their
awareness of God and their communities was raised.... Whenever you see
people doing better with their life and wanting to do better with
their life, it has to ignite a passion inside of you. The purpose of
life goes beyond the sale of drugs. Now, I think, they understand
that. They realize that they have an obligation to God, to their
families, to the people around them and to themselves."

Roderick Martin said he was skeptical when his parole officer ordered
him to attend the conference.

"I was angry," Martin said yesterday, wearing a red sash after the C2C
graduation. Martin was incarcerated after being caught with crack
cocaine. "I kind of laughed about it. 'For what?' I asked. But once I
started coming, on that very first day, I appreciated it. I seen what
was going on, what they were trying to do and I started appreciating
myself a little better, thinking about the bad things I was doing that
I shouldn't have been. I want to better myself. Everybody really put a
hand out for us."

Although Antwan Hauser wasn't forced to attend the conference, his
parole officer strongly recommended he attend.

Hauser, 30, said he started selling drugs in the eighth grade and was
caught with 78 rocks of crack cocaine in the ninth. Today, he has four
children and said he has lost everything he owned to drugs.

"I've done everything - sold drugs, shot people," Hauser said. "It's
time to do something else. I hate being broke like this now, but
there's got to be a better way. This showed us we got ways to make
money, don't have to be looking over our shoulder all the time. I want
a better life for my kids. I don't want them to grow up like that."

Mack said that the church has received such positive reactions from
people who attended the conference that it will be held again next
year.

"This week, the church was challenged. Many times, in church settings,
we often stigmatize people because of something they are doing. But
what we have learned this week is that these are some good people who
got into some tight situations, made some bad decisions and got
caught. This conference was about letting them know that we're not
giving up on them. It was absolutely unbelievable. I knew that it
would have an impact, I just didn't know the impact would be so great."