FAITH-BASED PROGRAM AIMS TO HELP DRUG ADDICTS THROUGH HARD WORK, DISCIPLINE

While running a day center for the homeless in Macon, Benny Leverett
wondered if he was really helping or just offering a means to continue
destructive behavior.

So he started praying for a way to solve the long-term problems of
many of his clients - specifically drug and alcohol abuse.

Little did he know that about 60 miles away, Mitch Melton also was
praying.

Melton runs Teen Challenge - a Christ-centered drug and alcohol
rehabilitation program in Laurens County. Melton asked God to show him
a way to answer the growing number of calls for help he was getting
from Macon.

Both their prayers were answered. They met through a mutual friend,
and in May started a Teen Challenge crisis intervention center in Macon.

Teen Challenge - which actually serves adult males 18 and up - opened
at 1976 Houston Ave., behind the Salvation Army store. The 21-bed
facility serves as an induction point to the one-year program in
Laurens County.

According to a Teen Challenge brochure, a government study found that
86 percent of people who complete the program remain free of addiction
seven years later. But Melton and Leverett are quick to point out that
no program can help until the addict is committed to change.

The Macon center gives men the chance to see if they are ready to
solve their problem before they are fully inducted into the program.

"It brings some stability to them before they get into a more intense
structure," said Melton, a former cocaine addict who credits his
recovery to a similar faith-based program. "In the first two or three
weeks, they have the opportunity to clear their minds before they make
a decision."

The Macon center is in a building owned by the Beulahland Bible
Church, which gave Teen Challenge a reduced rate on rent. The building
is in the heart of an area where Leverett says drug use is common.

Teen Challenge is a 43-year-old ministry that began with a country
preacher's efforts to help young gang members in New York City. It has
170 centers nationwide and 250 worldwide.

At the Macon center, inductees stay for a couple of weeks before
moving on to Laurens County. Daily activities at the Macon center are
"a little more laid back," said Melton, but otherwise the same as the
Laurens County program. Residents wake at about 6 a.m., take religious
and academic classes in the morning, do chores in the afternoon, then
study in the evening.

And they do various jobs to help pay their way. At the Macon center,
residents cut grass, do steam cleaning, chop wood, wash cars and just
about anything else to help support the facility. The work program has
another important aim - to keep residents busy and teach work ethics.

The induction fee is only $500, a fraction of what most one-year
programs cost. The remainder of the $5,000-per student annual cost is
made up by donations from churches, business and individuals, and the
funds generated by the work program.

Jeff Allred, 38, of Livingston, Tenn., entered the Macon center two
weeks ago. He started using methamphetamines when he was driving a
truck because he thought it would help him make more money.

Exactly the opposite turned out to be true. The drug ended up costing
him his job and his family. A $50-per-week habit eventually turned
into a $400-per-week habit.

"It took everything I had," he said. "I was basically living on the
street."

He entered a Teen Challenge center in San Antonio. Three months into
it, he was doing so well that he thought he could afford to leave and
return home to see his family. He quickly fell into old friends, and
old habits. That's when he decided to go back to Teen Challenge.

"This program will work if you stay with it," he said. "I kept knowing
in the back of my mind that this is where I needed to be."

This time, he said, he plans to finish.

The philosophy of Teen Challenge is simple. Drugs and alcohol are what
people use to fill a void in their lives. The only thing that can
replace that void is Christ.

Leverett firmly believes that even addicts who have resorted to living
on the streets can be productive members of society again.

"There are some great talents and great minds who have just taken a
bad turn," he said.

Whether addicts are willing to commit to a 1-year program or not, he
invites them to stop by and talk.

"Anybody who wants to get help can come by here or call us," he