Coalition News Article

How Much Do You Care?

by Randolph Reid

In 1997, The Guilford Center made a decision to partner with the Office of Juvenile Justice to tackle the problem of substance abuse among delinquent juveniles in Guilford County. The program is commonly known around the state and counties as “MAJORS.” The MAJORS Program can account for many success stories in its short history; however, a few stories stand out with distinction.

This first edition of the Guilford County Substance Abuse Coalition’s Newsletter would like to introduce you to Ashley, a former recipient of MAJORS Program services. Ashley is currently a 19-year-old female who was admitted to the MAJORS Program in April of 2002. Her history of school delinquency and substance abuse was the qualifying factor for her eligibility and program admission.

During my interview with Ashley, she stated, “The first time I used drugs, I was 12. That was with friends, using marijuana. I didn’t get too involved with it until I was about 15. That was when I was living in New York with my father, hanging out with the wrong friends, skipping school, basically drinking and partying all the time.” Ashley shared with me that this was a contributing factor to why she was later sent to training school for about six months. “When I got out, I moved back with my dad and started using again. At that time, my dad’s ex-wife’s brother moved in with us, and that’s when I got introduced to crystal meth and cocaine. I did not get hooked on crystal meth, but I did on cocaine. I did powder from the time I was 16 to about 18. I was using about an ‘eight-ball’ a day. I tried crack about three times, it was more of a social thing. That’s really how I started with everything.” During this period of Ashley’s life, she stopped going to school, stopped dealing with her family, and stopped participating in healthy, positive social activities with her friends. She stated that her father had his own life, leaving her alone during days and evenings to do as she pleased without instructions or directions on how to conduct her life.

Her family’s history with alcohol and drugs revealed that her mom is an alcoholic, her dad is a recovering alcoholic; she has two younger siblings, a brother and sister who do not live with either parent. Ashley describes her mother as “she’s just out there” and continues to live in New York. “She has no legal rights to any of us.” When asked to reflect on her relationship with her parents, she remembered that her dad began to drink heavily. Little attention was given to her, and “that’s when I started to use more.” When asked what role her father plays in her life now, she explains that, “My dad, he’s in my life, but he’s not in my life. Like, he doesn’t help me to do anything; he has his own life, and I have my own life. When I’m convenient, then it’s convenient for him. That’s why I think I used so many drugs and fell for so many guys. I didn’t have either of my parents there to give me guidance to tell me no; so when a guy came along and showed me attention, I would go that way.”

Later in the interview, I asked Ashley to tell me about the turning point in her life. She explained that it was difficult. “Everybody tried to tell me; Chris (Townsend) would tell me for years, ‘Ashley, you have to do something. You can’t keep doing this”… Ashley revealed that she finally made up her mind that “this has to stop.” She explained that the MAJORS Program was a primary resource in encouraging her to change her life. “It’s not that they understood where I was coming from, but they cared about what I was going through. They wanted to know about me; they wanted to help me.”

Ashley continued to explain, “Chris helped me to get back in school at one point. They didn’t push me. Like, you give a dirty urine, you’re out of the program. They worked with me like an individual in the group.” After completing treatment from the MAJORS Program and acquiring a new lifestyle without drugs and alcohol, Ashley was able to find a job and enrolled in High Point University. She explained that she was able to transfer to Guilford Technical Community College, where she is currently enrolled as a student. Ashley has to pay her own way; therefore, she was unable to afford the expense of continuing at HPU at this time.

I asked Ashley, “What do you think your future will look like?” She answered with a huge smile on her face, “I plan to finish school! Right now, I’m not sure. I want to work with kids. I don’t want to be a teacher of older kids, so I think I want to be an elementary school teacher or a counselor.” She continued, “I want to get married and have only one child and that’s it. You know, I want to do the things that my parents didn’t help me with. I want to be able to understand my kids; let them know that there are consequences.
Basically, my future is to do things that my parents didn’t; don’t be like that. That’s what my future plans are.”

Submitted by:
Randolph Reid,
The Guilford Center,
Behavior Health & Disability Services