Rehab program grads seek new start

Rebecca Malone

Friday, June 1, 2001 | 10:32 a.m.

Fifteen years of drug and alcohol use tore their family apart. They lost their jobs and their home. Their four children went to live with their grandmother.

Things have changed.

Now, six months after their enrollment, Thomas and Mo -- their last name is being withheld -- are preparing to graduate from the Salvation Army's Adult Rehabilitation Program.

Thomas, 42, and his wife Mo, 38, are scheduled to graduate with 18 others who completed a six-month, 24-hour drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. The graduation ceremony is today in the Adult Rehabilitation Program building.

"Being here provides a safe atmosphere and allows people to heal," Thomas said of the program. "Things are structured here to get the family back together."

Being able to attend the program as a couple was very important to Thomas and Mo. They considered their children and felt the only way they were going to be able to break their addictions was if they did so as a family.

They did not want their children to be forced to deal with the stigma often attached to drug and alcohol abuse.

"There is no way for a family to get through this unless they do it together," said Thomas. "(The Salvation Army program) literally saved our lives and our family's. If we had not been here it would have had an adverse effect on our children."

Mo's drug use began when she was in high school. She started using marijuana and it continued, and even escalated, throughout her college and married life. Thomas's drug use started a little later in life, when he was into the club scene and thought "doing cocaine was the thing to do."

Once Thomas and Mo were married their addictions became worse; they said they left their children home alone so they could go out to buy drugs.

When Child Protective Services got involved and the children moved in with Mo's mother, the couple decided to alter the course of their lives. Thomas and Mo have both tried other rehabilitation programs, but they never worked. The spirituality in the Salvation Army's program is what they believe got them to kick their addictions.

"This is a spiritual-based program," said Mo. "It is helping us grow spiritually, and for us that is a very strong point. It is an exciting program; it is what you get out of it."

Although the men and women in this program work and sleep in different areas, couples can share meals and go to church together.

Charles Desiderio, director of Development and Marketing for The Salvation Army, said sales at the thrift stores completely fund the program. The Salvation Army and its programs are funded through private donations and fund-raisers. The organization also receives some government funding.

Desiderio said that while people are enrolled in the program they receive counseling, do work therapy, attend Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous and receive spiritual guidance.

"We are extremely proud of this program," said Desiderio.

Thomas and Mo believe the program is successful because it focuses on the entire body, not just the addiction. Mo said that the program's emphasis on fitness and health also helped her give up cigarettes.

"Graduating Friday night is like a new beginning for us," said Thomas. "I don't know what the future is going to hold, but I know that I do not need drinks or drugs to get through it."