Pubdate: Sun, 03 Dec 2006
Source: Times, The (Gainesville, GA)
Copyright: 2006 Gainesville Times
Contact:  http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2701
Author: Stephen Gurr, The Times

RECOVERING ADDICTS GIVE BACK

ST. GEORGE - A group of recovering addicts put a new  spin on charity
Saturday.

Offering secondhand goods and barbecue from a Rite Aid  parking lot in
St. George, alumni of the Washington  County drug court had raised
more than $180 midway  through a holiday rummage sale. All proceeds
will go to  local charities to buy food and gifts for needy  families.

But rarely has service meant so much to the ones  lending a hand.
"Doing things like this - giving back  to the community - that's how
we stay clean and sober,"  said Paul Paget, who has been sober since
2004.

The group hopes to start a trend of community  involvement among
successful graduates of an 18-month  drug treatment program at
Southwest Mental Health.

Nonviolent offenders who end up before the Washington  County drug
court are often given the choice between  lengthy prison sentences and
treatment.

"You have to want a new life," said Paget, who has a  5-month-old
daughter. "You have to want to change."

His commitment to the program saved his life, he said,  and it helped
him to keep a good job with the city of  St. George.

"Part of the reason they gave me a chance was because  they knew I was
in that program," he said.

Alumni of the drug court have formed a support group,  30 members
strong, to hold one another accountable to a  drug-free life. And some
of them would like to see  alumni do more for the community.

"We've taken so much," said Carolyn Osmanski. "The only  thing we can
do is give back."

The alumni praised every aspect of the county's  recovery program.

"They teach you everything, how to live life over,"  Paget said.

In four phases, counselors hold patients to a strict  schedule of
sessions, check-ins and drug tests.

"It makes it structured so we get on a schedule, and  our lives can go
back to normal," said Mikkee Chappele,  who has also been sober since
2004.

Employers work with the drug court to give patients  financial
stability, as long as they see the treatment  through to the end. And
the Utah Division of Child and  Family Services works closely with the
program to help  recovering addicts reunite with their children, said
Osmanski.

The alumni said drug treatment gave them hope:  something they may not
have had for years.

"That's what it's all about - that there is hope, that  change is
possible," said Tessa Aston, who spent 35  years addicted to drugs.

More holiday rummage sales are on the way, the group  promised. They
thanked Wal-Mart and Albertson's for  donating food and drink for
sale, and Rite Aid for  offering them the paved venue.
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MAP posted-by: Derek