Pubdate: Sat, 21 May 2005
Source: Post and Courier, The (Charleston, SC)
Copyright: 2005 Evening Post Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.charleston.net/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/567
Author: Schuyler Kropf
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

NEW COURT PROGRAM HELPS WOMAN LEAVE LIFE OF DRUGS

Kerriann Evans has lived a tormented life: binges of smoking crack cocaine 
followed by attempts to kick the habit.

Fourteen times she tried to give up crack, seeking treatment in drug rehab. 
Fourteen times she failed.

Until Friday. That's when Evans, 41, graduated from Charleston County's 
Family Recovery Court, a nonprofit treatment program with a zero-tolerance 
approach to drug relapse. If she failed to pass, chances were the Mount 
Pleasant woman would never see her children again.

Evans' addiction dates back 20 years. Her crack habit got so bad that she 
quit her day job so she could drive a taxi at night. The difference was 
having instant cash in her hand versus having to wait for a paycheck. "My 
habit or my work," she said. "I had to let one go." The treatment program 
helped her put her old life behind her. "They really support you. It's 
unbelievable," she said. Evans' two daughters, Brianna, 11, and Faith, 3, 
played a large part in her reaching sobriety. When her habit took over, the 
Department of Social Services took her girls away and gave custody to 
Evans' sister. Evans was not allowed to see them.

"I chose to go on with my life as it was," she said, which meant feeding 
her craving for drugs."They really support you. It's unbelievable," she 
said. Evans' two daughters, Brianna, 11, and Faith, 3, played a large part 
in her reaching sobriety. When her habit took over, the Department of 
Social Services took them away and gave custody to Evans' sister. Evans was 
not allowed to see them.

But being cut off from her kids and the end of an abusive relationship with 
a boyfriend finally prompted her to seek help. Family Recovery Court was a 
last option.

The 3-year-old program is not an official arm of government but is done as 
a treatment with the blessing of the family court and other service 
agencies. As a treatment program, it is heavily structured to first get the 
women who are enrolled off their drug dependency, then to help them learn 
how to live a clean and normal life.

Meetings are held often; so is drug testing. Tests can be ordered as many 
as five times a week to ensure someone is clean. As the woman's conduct 
improves, so does her access to her kids.

"They drug-tested me all the time," Evans said. "I can't thank these people 
enough." Because the court is not an arm of government, it depends on 
private donations. The program normally takes 12 to 18 months to complete. 
Evans finished in 10 months. "She was the most committed," said court 
coordinator Mardi Lempeck. So far, 22 women have entered the program. Five 
have dropped out, deciding "crack cocaine was more important than their 
children," Lempeck said. Family Court Judge Paul Garfinkel is a proponent 
of the court. "It works," he said, adding that similar programs at the 
national level have three times the success rate of other recovery efforts. 
"It's really an accountability court," he said.

Evans said her drug life is gone forever and she'll never need another 
rehab. "This is 15 -- and final," she said.
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman