REHAB PROGRAM CELEBRATES GRADUATION OF 3

DURHAM -- Three Durham residents were honored Sunday in a special
graduation marking their return to independent living, free from drugs and
alcohol.

Alvin Sparks, Diana Robinson and Tanya Yancey each completed a 12-month
program with the Phoenix House and the Dove House, male and female housing
within the Housing for New Hope program, which helps homeless people move
toward independent and professional living.

The ceremony at the Northgate Presbyterian Church Sunday was marked by
tears of pride and joy as family members and sponsors gathered to honor the
graduates.

"I am grateful to the house because, before I came here, I had reached the
bottom," said Diana Robinson, 42, who was addicted to drugs and alcohol and
was homeless for three or four months. "I didn't want structure. I wanted
to do things my way. But I went there with the attitude that I either had
to learn a new way to live or die."

Assistant Director of Housing for New Hope, Regina Ware, addressed the
graduates and the current Phoenix and Dove house residents who were in
attendance.

"It's worth it," Ware said. "We are helping you do things that you forgot
how to do. We are reteaching you things that you already knew."

The Rev. Michael Page of First Antioch Church was the guest speaker at the
ceremony, and offered words of advice and encouragement to the graduates
and the current residents of both houses.

"What we have to remember is that there are going to be some good days and
there are going to be some bad days, but you've got to go on just the
same," Page said. "We need you to tell your story today because there are
far too many helpless and hopeless people who need to hear your story."

Graduates accepted their honors through tears and family members spoke out
to tell them of their pride.

"I just got so tired of living the way that I was living and I thought that
I had to do it myself," said Tanya Yancey, 41, who was a drug addict and
homeless for six months. "It's changed my life and it's saved my life."

Yancey now works as a certified nursing assistant at LaSalle Rehabilitation
Center, and Robinson works as an accounting clerk at life insurance firm
North Carolina Mutual.

"I just chose life and I decided I needed to go," said Alvin Sparks of his
decision to enter the Phoenix house. Sparks was referred by a mental health
clinic in Fayetteville. "When I first came in the house, I really struggled
and I needed the help bad."

Sparks now works at a group home for teenage boys and shares his
experiences with them to help them change their lives the way he did.

There are six men and six women in the Housing for New Hope program.
Residents must complete a 12-month program, continue to stay clean of
alcohol and drugs, open a savings or checking account and follow the rules
of the program.

There are also five women in the perinatal program in which women who are
pregnant or have children live.