Series: Part 5 Of 5

FAITH HEALING: SPIRITUALITY OFFERS HELP ON ADDICTIONS

A Mormon mission to Holland. Graduation from Brigham Young University with
business degree. Temple marriage with three children. A job with a
prominent stock brokerage house.

Lonnie's life would seem unnoticeably normal by Utah standards.

But for much of the past five years, Lonnie has kept a horrific secret. He
is an addict.

"Maybe it started when I was playing with my kids and injured my knee," he
said. The painkillers the doctors gave him after the arthroscopic surgery
"made my knee feel better and it made me feel better."

A year later, a traffic accident left Lonnie with a herniated disc and even
more pain. More painkillers were prescribed.

"I found myself scamming more and more pills. If I couldn't get enough from
one doctor, I would go to another. I would see two or three doctors a week.
Then I started visiting emergency rooms."

Lonnie kept his addiction hidden from his wife and his employer. He was
working 50 hours a week and almost as much time working scams to get more
pills.

Two years ago, he tried to quit and couldn't. "The first thing I did in the
morning was pop a pill and the last thing I would do at night was pop a
pill. And every waking moment was spent thinking how I could get more pills."

A year ago, without telling anyone, Lonnie walked into a rehab clinic for
help. He told his LDS bishop, who arranged help through LDS Social
Services. After three months of methadone treatment, he told his wife, who
now accompanies him on counseling sessions.

"I know I am not alone anymore," he said.

Addicts call it the "monkey," and the ape just gets heavier with each
needle, with each pill swallowed, every time they inhale crack or heroin.

In time, it crushes them. Lost jobs, broken families, crime, even death.

Addicts know the cost, but they believe they are genuinely helpless to stop
the spiral. They want to, but they can't. Almost without exception, every
addict has tried to quit only to fail. Sometimes the cycle of quitting and
relapsing lasts for years.

The physical pain of withdrawal and the psychological cravings are
overpowering; addicts cannot just talk or will themselves out of them. Glen
Hanson, a University of Utah professor and acting director of the National
Institute on Drug Abuse, says drugs essentially wring out the pleasure
centers of the brain. Chronic use alters chemistry and even the brain
itself, perhaps permanently.

The purpose of any organ in the body is to keep you functioning on an even
keel, Hanson says. For example, if you get too hot, you sweat; if you eat
too much salt you get thirsty. If you continually alter the chemistry of
the brain, you also alter its ability to right itself.

"And soon you won't feel normal without whatever chemical you're using -
coffee and cola drinkers know something about that," he says. "For hard
drugs, using to get high turns into using to feel normal, and that turns
into using to not get violently ill."

Experts in addiction treatment agree that kicking the habit rests in large
part with an acceptance on the part of addicts that they cannot do it
alone. The supportive role of family cannot be minimized. Neither can the
importance of spirituality be ignored.

Virtually every treatment program involves some level of spirituality in
its treatment approach. Some are heavily focused on traditional religions
and faith in God. For others, it is the spirituality found while hiking or
running, anything they do that allows them to search their souls.

"Anyone in a good treatment program will say they have gotten right with a
higher spiritual power," said Pat Fleming director of the state Division of
Substance Abuse, the agency that distributes state and federal funding to
qualified treatment programs. "These are some of the most religious people
you will ever meet."

It is one reason why the state has worked closely with faith-based
organizations for the past two decades. In fact, such organizations are an
indispensable part of the state's approach to addiction treatment.

"People say they have beat it, and it could be done with enough will
power," said Andrew Kalinen, director of Discovery House, a Salt Lake
methadone clinic. "But for most people, particularly those on opiate- based
drugs, they get so sick they cannot handle it on their own. The pain is
overwhelming."

For rehab to take hold, addicts need the unconditional support of family in
all of its various configurations. They need daily and constant
reinforcement for the small steps toward recovery and understanding when
they fail. And often they need a higher power.

It is, Kalinen said, a fundamental lifestyle change that involves leaving
behind everyone they know who uses drugs, sometimes even family members and
spouses still involved in the drug scene.

Many times, husbands and wives come in for treatment together, and
invariably they fail because one or the other starts backsliding and drags
the other along.

"In many cases, they have been high the entire time they were together, and
they don't know how to relate to each other being clean," he said.

Churches are a fundamental part of Utah's approach to treatment, and they
have been for the past 20 years. Commonly referred to as "faith- based
organizations," churches provide everything from counseling to actual
medical treatment.

Three faith-based organizations have qualified to receive tax money to help
pay for treatment programs. Volunteers of America received $1.6 million in
state and federal money last fiscal year, while Catholic Community Services
received about $227,000 and the Salvation Army received $178,000.

They each offer time-proven treatment programs and tireless personnel
driven by religious zeal and unshakable faith in the worth of all human beings.

Volunteers of America literally brings the opportunity for treatment to the
streets and works with the most hard-core alcoholic and drug- addicted
residents. Their outreach program includes vans, affectionately known as
"boozer cruisers," that go out on "patrol" almost every day. Volunteer
teams search for people and families on the streets, under viaducts, on
railroad tracks and on the banks of creeks.

Those with drug-abuse problems are brought to the detoxification center, a
60-bed residential facility that annually houses more than 4,000 people.
Center residents attend 12-step meetings and are referred to
substance-abuse-treatment programs.

Because a majority of women addicted to drugs are young, often homeless
mothers, Volunteers of America also operates a 40-bed residential facility
to help them quit. Those admitted don't have to deal with the added anxiety
of being separated as they detoxify and get treatment.

The center grew out of necessity, both because of the dramatic recent
increase in the number of addicted mothers and the fact that they will
resist treatment if they are separated from their children, said Jeff St.
Romain, president and CEO of Volunteers of America Utah.

Children who have been taken into state custody because of traces of drugs
found in their blood have been returned to their mothers because the center
provided housing and treatment.

According to Fleming, Volunteers of America, Catholic Community Services
and the Salvation Army have met state licensing requirements mandated of
all treatment programs. They are also required "not to violate the
separation clause of the Constitution," and they cannot "refuse service to
a person of a different faith."

Other churches have opted not to accept government funds, but they provide
clinical counseling and refer addicts to other licensed treatment programs
for additional care.

There are also private foundations like the Edward G. Callister Foundation,
better known as Project Hope, that has launched a massive publicity
campaign - KSL has agreed to air 400 television spots - to dispel
stereotypes about addiction. The foundation on Monday released the state's
most comprehensive public poll of Utah attitudes on drug abuse. The clear
consensus is that Utahns believe substance abuse is a significant problem,
that it is a disease, not a result of moral weakness, and that more tax
money should be spent on treatment.

The foundation was started by Ellen and Lou Callister, who watched
helplessly as four of their seven children struggled with substance abuse.
They tried all the treatment programs, listened to all the theories, tried
all the cures.

And they became increasingly frustrated with clinical approaches that just
didn't work.

After a son died in a car accident days after relapsing with cocaine and
alcohol, the Callisters started a campaign to address addiction from a
holistic approach that includes biological, psychological, societal and
spiritual components.

"The last thing my son wanted to be was an addict," said Lou, a prominent
Salt Lake attorney who has made it his life's crusade to help Utahns
understand the truths behind addiction.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has opted not to accept
government funds for addiction treatment, but Fleming said LDS bishops now
have a close informal working relationship with the various entities, both
public and private, that offer treatment for substance abuse.

Beginning about six years ago, the church began aggressively addressing
substance abuse, bringing a patchwork of quasi-official programs under one
sanctioned umbrella and calling missionaries to serve in "12- Step"
missions that incorporate teachings from the Bible and Book of Mormon.

"When church members struggle in their lives, our role is to provide as
much help as we can in that struggle," said Steve Sunday, manager of
administration and special services for LDS Social Services.

Sunday would not disclose how many or the percentage of church members
participating in the program, but he said there are 12-Step missions in
Utah, Arizona and California. The church has plans to expand the service
wherever the need arises. According to one recovering addict attending an
LDS support group in Salt Lake City, attendance has grown from about 200 to
300 a month to more than 2,000 in any given month.

"Whether it is one or a hundred, it doesn't matter. These groups are
provided to help individuals make changes in their lives," Sunday said.

Sunday acknowledged there is a prevailing perception among the church
rank-and-file that substance abuse isn't much of a problem in the church.
And there is a "certain lack of understanding" about addiction, something
that can make those struggling with addiction feel alone and rejected.

One faithful LDS mother with addicted children admits she struggles with
church members' ignorance about addiction, in particular the blanket
stereotype that addiction is a moral failing or the result of bad
parenting. And she is frustrated by church policy that prevents those
working to overcome addictions from serving in callings enjoyed by others.

"I have thought many times they need to find a church where they can be
accepted if they have a drinking problem," she said.

Sunday said there is a growing awareness in the church that addiction is a
serious problem, but the church to his knowledge has taken no position on
the causes of addiction. There may be a genetic predisposition, he said,
and there may be elements of personal choice.

"I think there is a place for both perspectives," he said.

"The important thing we all need to recognize is the church is made up of
all kinds of people . . . with all different kinds of struggles. The focus
should be how we can help each other."

State officials and treatment center counselors who accept referrals from
LDS Social Services unanimously agree there has been a fundamental shift in
attitude by the church over the past several years. In some communities,
ward bishops are aggressively seeking out addicts and helping to pay for
treatment.

"We have seen a tremendous change in the attitude of the church under
President Hinckley," said Fleming.

For addicts, addiction takes many forms, and they recognize that addiction
will be a part of their lives forever. Even those who have been clean for
decades remember the euphoria with fondness.

For many, the cravings never go away, making each and every day a struggle
to stay clean.

For more information or to get help, contact:

LDS Family Services Substance Abuse Recovery, 801-240-6272

Volunteers of America, 363-9414

Catholic Community Services, 977-9119

Salvation Army, 322-1253

Alcoholics Anonymous, 484-7871

Project Hope Hotline, 587-HOPE (4673) www.hopetoday.com