FIRST Offers A Second Shot at Life
B> MARK R WOSS
Chronu U Suft \\ nter
On the night of the games,
you re allowed to curse and shout
and and get out of your system ;
whatever it is that s bothering sou. '?
No holds are barred, so you can j
vent your spleen about anything, or
anyone.
When the games are over, how
ever. you must go about your daily
activities and deal with your fellow *
resident on a level completely
devoid of the acrimony displayed
during the games.
The garner are the twice
weekly group sessions used by the
residents of the Forsyth Initiative
for Residential Self-Help Treatment
(FIRST).
The program is run from an old
renovated house in a residential
area, 301 Spring St. FIRST, which
has been in existence for less than
two years, recently purchased and is
in the process of renovating another
old home across the street. FIRST is
a two-year program for drug-abus
ing ex-convicts. The program is
modeled after the better known
Delancey Street program, which has
a facility in Greensboro.
Mary Hogden. FIRST'S direc
tor, is a graduate of Delancey Street
and helped to establish the Greens
boro facility. -
"It's a tough program for tough
people," Hogden said about FIRST.
"We practice tough love."
Hogden, a feisty, no-nonsense
woman, explained that FIRST got
start-up money from several local
foundations. In three to five years;"
FIRST hopes to be completely self
sufficient, she said.
The games, residents said, are
one of the prime reasons for the
_ changes in their lives.
"You can call it an attack ses
sion," said resident Oil ie Hooker.
"Most of the time (the residents) are
angry with themselves. The games
are a chance to say what you want
to say and let him see what he's
doing wrong. We don't apologize
during the games."
"If two or three people say the
Mary Hogden (le ft) with members of FIRST.
same thing, it s got to be real, said
Lynetta Jackson, another resident.
Hooker and Jackson are both
ex-convicts with lengthy police
records. Besides their run-ins w ith
the law. what they also have in
common with the other 3 1 residents
is that they are recovering alco
holics or drug addicts.
On a recent weekday morning
the house was abuzz with people
preparing to leave for their various
jobs, fcveryone nas a responsibility,
and if money is earned it goes
towards the cost of maintaining the
facility. Two residents are currently
working in the mailroom at Integon
Insurance Corp. A group of resi
dents are involved in selling Christ
mas trees and poinsettias. Another
group is charged with making the
new house habitable.
Jackson works in the office
doing telemarketing and helps in the
kitchen.
Jackson's story is typical of the
others. The 37-vear-old started
using drugs in he'r late teens and to
support her habit she began stealing.
She also acted as a drug courier,
moving drugs from_Atlanta to North
Carolina. Her record earned her a
10-year sentence for felonious lar
ceny, her last conviction.
Jackson and other FIRST resi
dents said that the 30-day drug reha
bilitation programs offered by the
prison system just don't work. When
she found out about FIRST, she
wrote Hogden a letter - all candi
dates for residency have to write a
letter expressing their interest in
getting in the program.
For Jackson, the transition
wasn't easy.
"They told me I was going to
have to work 18 hours a day," Jack
son said. "I said. 'Eighteen hours a
day! ... You learn to appreciate a
lot of things around here" like sleep,
she said, laughing.
The program at FIRST involves
mastering stages. The first one, the
preppy stage, is a 30-45 day session
in learning responsibility by doing
such menial things as washing the
walls of the house. The new resi
dent's day starts at 6:30 a.m. and
stops at midnight. The next three
stages are underclassman, upper
classman and graduate student,
with each one representing more
responsibility. Before graduating,
the resident is required to earn a
high-school diploma and to" learn
three skills that will help him get a
job.
"Two years is not a long time
considering what I was doing," said
Edgar Davis, 46, who was arrested
and jailed for stealing his mother's
car. which he drove to make a drug
buy. (
As important as the games are
in venting steam, equally as impor
tant are the residents themselves and
the way they relate to each other.
"The success of the program
depends on the residents," said
Hogden.
Today's Scholars. Tomorrow's Leaders.
These students represent the
first graduating class of the Thurgood
Marshall Scholarship Fund. Dedicated
voung men and women who earned their
scholarships through outstanding acad
emic achievement and commitment to
excellence.
The Thurgood Marshall
Scholarship Fund'was created to help
young scholars earn a college degree and
fulfill their highest potential. A national
merit based program, it is the only one
that awards four-vear scholarships to
students attending historically black
public colleges and universities.
The results have been exception
al. These scholars have an outstanding
four-year academic average of 3.3 or
better. In Fact, more than 6S% of them
plan to go. on to graduate school.
The Miller Brewing Company is
proud to congratulate these very dis
tinguished graduates. Supporting
the best and the brightest students
today means supporting the leaders of
tomorrow.
Give to the Thurgood Marshall
Scholarship Fund.
The Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.
Pit A Youth In A Skat Of Power.
For lundraising program information, call to 1 2-835-7838 Write or send donations to:
Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund. Processing Center. P.O. llox ,WW2. Washington. DC 2()03b
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