Pubdate: Sun, 13 Mar 2005
Source: Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
Copyright: 2005 Lexington Herald-Leader
Contact:  http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/240
Author: Roger Alford, Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

CHRISTIANS TAKE UP THE FIGHT AGAINST DRUG ABUSE

'The Most ... Devastating Of The Problems We Face'

PAINTSVILLE - Christians in drug-ravaged central Appalachia are 
increasingly reaching out to addicts instead of waiting for government 
programs to rid the region of what some have described as a scourge.

In the latest initiative, the Christian Appalachian Project announced 
Friday that it plans to invest $1 million to open long-term rehabilitation 
centers in Eastern Kentucky to help drug abusers to break their addictions.

Bill Mills, president of the ministry that has fed and clothed the poor in 
Appalachia for 40 years, said churches and other Christian organizations 
are stepping forward to deal with the drug problem.

"Substance abuse is a plague upon our Eastern Kentucky communities," he 
said. "It is the most dominant and devastating of the problems we face 
today. We simply are choosing to be part of the solution."

While Christian groups support the work of federal and state agencies that 
are working to combat the drug problem through law enforcement and 
government-funded treatment centers, the Rev. Doug Abner said they're also 
looking for ways to be personally involved.

They're opening drug rehabilitation centers, taking part in large anti-drug 
rallies, reaching into their pocketbooks to help pay for detoxification, 
starting neighborhood watch programs, monitoring drug cases from 
arraignment to sentencing in local courts, and working one-on-one with 
recovering addicts to encourage them to stay drug-free.

Soon after prescription drug abuse reached "epidemic" proportions in the 
Hazard area, Abner said residents in Perry County opened Joshua's Dream 
Foundation, an organization that provides free rehabilitation for drug addicts.

In Clay County, Christians wanted to show their opposition to drug dealers. 
On a rainy day last May, 3,500 people from 63 local churches rallied in 
Manchester to show their opposition to the illegal drug trade.

"We repented for being more concerned about our buildings and our programs 
than for our people," said Abner, pastor of Community Church in Manchester. 
"That went a long way toward changing things. We are seeing the churches 
step outside their walls and get involved, which is something we needed to 
do forever but didn't."

Marilynn Payson, director of community development for Christian 
Appalachian Project, said her organization historically has worked to help 
impoverished people with physical needs. In fact, a warehouse outside 
Paintsville is filled with crates of food destined for communities 
throughout central Appalachia.

Payson said expanding the organization's efforts to help drug addicts 
recover is a natural extension of the organization's work.

"We were started to help remedy the ramifications of poverty, and this is 
just one more part of that mission," she said.

Mills said the Christian Appalachian Project will open a prototype women's 
drug recovery center in Rockcastle County by the end of this year, which 
will transition into a larger recovery center that will open in Martin 
County by late 2006.

Mills said his organization will seek donations to cover the startup costs 
plus about $500,000 a year in operational expenses.

Besides drug rehabilitation, the Christian Appalachian Project will provide 
job training for addicts, teach parenting skills, and even teach them to 
read and write if necessary. The organization also is encouraging churches 
to adopt recovering addicts after they complete rehabilitation to offer 
support and encouragement to stay off drugs.

"We want to give them a new lease on life," he said.

Abner said he believes such initiatives will help central Appalachia win 
the war against drugs.

"Just the fact that good people are standing up and being counted really 
makes a difference," he said. "We've complained. We've grumbled. We've done 
all those things. Now we've decided to be a part of the solution."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom