MOTHER PROGRAM GIVES WOMEN THEIR LIVES BACK

To see them now, no one could guess the circumstances that brought
these women to the Mother Program in Beckley. They are bright, caring
women with warm smiles and gracious manners.

As they begin to share their stories, expressions of pain, regret and
fear etch their faces.

"I started doing drugs at age 12 with alcohol and pot," Gena Bragg
begins hesitantly. "I did it to fit in. I also did it because I was
curious. I wanted to know what I was missing."

She quit school at 16, a move she now knows was a big
mistake.

"I felt really stupid. I couldn't get a job. All I did was party. I
went back to school to give myself a chance, but I was only there half
the time. I could have made A's and B's, but I graduated with a C. I
wish I could go back and do that over again and know what I know now,"
Bragg said.

Unfortunately, Bragg continued using her drugs of choice, and her
addictions worsened. Then came a reason to make some changes.

"I got pregnant. It was a mixed blessing for me. I got clean, and I
was happy, but confused."

After her son was born, she did well for a while, remaining clean for
more than a year. Then, "a little voice" in her head told her taking a
few pain pills now and then wouldn't hurt. She wouldn't become
addicted again.

"I listened to that voice, and I messed up. I was on pain pills for
three years or longer. I started snorting them. I started using a
needle to inject OxyContin into my arm. I knew I was in trouble, but I
couldn't make myself stop," Bragg recalled painfully.

Once again, her son came to the rescue.

"One day, he wanted me to come outside and play with him. I really
wanted to go, but I wanted to get a buzz first. I really thought about
it, and I decided I wanted my son more. I threw the needle down and
said, 'That's it.' I called the Department of Health and Human
Resources for help," Bragg said.

She considered some 30-day treatment programs, but felt they would not
be successful in helping her quit for good. While she was undergoing
drug detoxification at Beckley-ARH, a counselor told her about the
Mother Program.

"It was a six-month program, and it sounded like it would give me more
time to understand my disease and kick the habit for good," she said.

The Mother Program is an intensive substance abuse treatment program
for women. By combining resources from FMRS Health Systems, Pine Haven
Homeless Services and a variety of health care and social services,
the program directs women through a three-phase recovery effort and
long-range follow-up.

They must regularly attend Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous
and participate in intensive recovery groups, life skills groups,
parenting groups and recreational activities.

All these efforts are designed to help women deal with the emotional
issues that led to their addictions.

Women are gradually moved into the community. Once they can
demonstrate they can manage their finances, hold down a job and return
to productive lives in society, they transition into more normal lifestyles.

Available to women in Raleigh, Fayette, Summers, Greenbrier and
Pocahontas counties, the program has shown a significant success rate,
according to Drema Tabor, director of FMRS Women's Substance Abuse
Services.

"Most of these women have hit rock bottom. We have to address each
woman's problems from many angles in order to provide the
comprehensive help she needs to recover and return to society," Tabor
said.

Melinda Carroll can attest to that fact.

"When I was drinking and drugging, my life was pure hell. I never had
a steady home for my kids. We were always moving from place to place.
Sometimes we didn't eat for a day or two. My drinking and drugs were
more important to me," Carroll said.

She came to Beckley from Mesa, Ariz., to enter the Mother Program. "It
was the best thing I've ever done in my life. It has been hard, but
well worth it. The Mother Program has changed my life, and I'll always
be grateful to them," Carroll said.

She has been sober nine months and is now living in a transition house
with another woman who is a recovering alcoholic.

"I'm happy today. I love my kids more than drugs and alcohol. I have a
higher power that I call God, and I know my kids and me are going to
make it. I'm so thankful to the Mother Program because I don't know
where I would be if I hadn't found this place," Carroll said.

By April 2002, Lynn Atkins had lost everything because of substance
abuse.

"I don't just mean I had lost material things. I had lost all my
self-respect. I lost my love of life. I just hit rock bottom," Atkins
said.

Her alcoholism landed her in Pine Haven, where she heard about the
program.

"I have learned a lot about tolerance and patience, just by living in
a homeless shelter. By the grace of God and the caring counselors in
my support system and in AA, I'm living a happy, sober life today,"
Atkins said.

She's living in a transitional home with another alcoholic, and the
two give each other reasons not to return to their old lives.

"When I have a bad day, I know that I can come home and talk to
someone who understands and I don't have to pick up a drink. My whole
life is changing, and I love my life today," Atkins said.

All say they fear they might not have survived had they not found the
program.

"If it wasn't for this big group of loving people, I wouldn't have my
life. Dead or alive, I wouldn't be living. I'd just be existing
somewhere," Bragg said. "It would just be one more day of drugs and
alcohol and no more future. No hope. Nothing. I lost everything, and
this program has given me something back that I couldn't have gotten
anywhere else. It gave me my life."