PROGRAM OFFERING HELP, HOPE TO WOMEN

HAGERSTOWN - One day at a time, with determination and support from a local
rehabilitation center, Stacia Conway and Glendora Lewis have conquered
their substance abuse problems and begun building a better future for
themselves and their children, they said.

The two women graduated this summer from the Washington County Health
Department's CAMEO House in Hagerstown. CAMEO House is a long-term
transitional housing facility that offers a variety of treatment services
for alcohol- and drug-addicted mothers of children under 13.

CAMEO stands for Children and Mothers Experiencing Opportunities.

Baltimore natives Conway and Lewis spent about one year in the program
after shorter-term rehabilitation efforts and methadone clinics failed to
help them kick the drug habits that were destroying their lives, they said.

Conway, 33, continued to use heroin even after she learned she was
pregnant, she said.

"At the time, I just wasn't ready to stop. I was just getting an oil change
before I got dirtied up again," she said.

Lewis started smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol at age 10, had
graduated to crack cocaine by 20 and started using heroin a few years
later, she said. She never had a job, drove a car or graduated from high
school.

"I was living in the projects, using my money to buy drugs, watching life
pass me by," said Lewis, 34. "I was tired of being tired. I got tired of
living that way."

Conway also "got tired of using and doing the things drugs make you do,"
she said. "I wanted a better life for me and my daughter. It's never too
late to change."

In spring 2001, Lewis and Conway sought long-term rehabilitation to deal
with their addictions once and for all, they said. Referred to the CAMEO
House, they stuck with the intensive rehab program and have been drug-free
for 17 and 16 months, respectively, they said.

"It's not easy to get through and you have to want it to make it, but I
would recommend this program to any woman with children who needs help,"
Lewis said. "Being here really helped me want to change my life."

She and Conway now work full-time and rent apartments for themselves and
their children.

"I feel so strong. You don't know how proud I am of myself, how much I
respect myself now," said Conway, who was promoted to a supervisory
position at her Valley Mall job within six months.

"I really feel good because today I think I'm making all the right choices.
I'm responsible today. I'm a real mother today," she said.

Lewis expects to earn her high school diploma in December. She is learning
how to drive and was voted Employee of the Year for her job at a local fast
food restaurant.

"I'm dependable now. I never miss work and I'm always on time," Lewis said.
"I don't care if I don't have a penny left over for anything else, I pay my
bills."

Conway and Lewis are among five women who have graduated from CAMEO since
the program was launched in June 2001, program director Melissa Crawford said.

CAMEO House - the only such facility in the Tri-State area - serves
eligible women from throughout the state. CAMEO opened in June 2001 after
Health Department Addictions Director Becky Hogamier secured a $212,000
federal grant to fund the program. That grant was subsequently renewed and
increased, Crawford said.

CAMEO participants - which now total six mothers and eight children - are
asked to commit themselves to the highly structured program for up to one
year, Crawford said.

The women and up to three of their children live in private dormitory rooms
and share kitchen and living areas. Conway and Lewis each lived at CAMEO
House with one young child.

Part of the health department's Division of Addictions and Mental Health
Services, the program is staffed by certified addictions counselors, social
workers, nurses, physicians, psychiatrists and support personnel, Crawford
said.

"The staff here are wonderful. There was always someone I could talk to,"
said Conway, who became known as the "peacemaker" at CAMEO for her ability
to mediate the conflicts that tend to arise when people with different
personalities share close quarters for long periods of time.

Despite those personality differences, Conway and Lewis said, they forged
strong bonds with CAMEO House workers and residents.

The women share daily housekeeping duties, receive addictions treatment
five days a week, attend Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous
sessions, receive mental health assessments and referrals and participate
in individual and group therapy sessions led by certified counselors,
Crawford said.

"I didn't always agree with everything they said, but deep down in my heart
I knew they were right," Lewis said.

CAMEO clients learn parenting skills and how to manage their emotions and
their money. They get job training, educational assistance and help finding
their own homes after they graduate from the program, Crawford said.

"We provide a safe place for them to cope and process daily problems in
life that in the past would have caused them to use (drugs or alcohol),"
Crawford said. "We build a foundation here for them and give them the tools
they need. The women can choose to use those tools for their continuing
recovery."

Lewis credits CAMEO counselors with giving her the skills she needed to get
in touch with her emotions and help manage her once uncontrollable anger.
She recently responded to a rude customer by turning her back for a moment
to say the Serenity Prayer, she said.

"I've got feelings today. I care about people today. I care how I talk to
people today," Lewis said. "It feels good to be able to talk to my children
without fussing and all that stuff."