The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 52, Ed. 1 Friday, December 1, 1978 Page: 6 of 8
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GLEN’S H
105 N. Elm 363-1713
WE’RE QUICK ON
THE DRAW WHEN
IT COMES TO
LOANING MONEY.
December 1
1978
Friday
PAGE 6—THE NORTH TEXAS DAILY
Texas Drug Abusers Receive
Love' in New Drug Program
The Christmas
n-----
\^cllllClcl OcllC
• \ \ / /
\s-on
Thurs., Fri., Sat.W Mon.
Nov. 30-Dec. 4
The Largest Sale in our
4Vi year History
Don’t Miss it.
open til 9:00 Thurs.
"The Professional Choice'
105 Ave. A
denton
photo
387-3915
Ski Trip
Thirty one students in Sweet
Estes' backpacking class
braved snow and cold in a
trip to La Veta, Colo, over
Thanksgiving, (above) Val
Sumner, Dallas sophomore
and Ms. Estes, left with dog
Thor, prepare for a cross-
country ski trip in the San
Isabel National Forest (bot-
tom). (right) Dallas freshman
Richard Hohman and Miss
Sumner unload their
backpacking equipment.
; i' 1
: & 1
*# 13
■ i
W;*>!
•S.--
FT
Eviction
Repairs
Overview of Law
STUDENT TENANT RIGHTS
WORKSHOP
TOMORROW
Sponsored by Student Association
Saturday, December 2nd II a.m. to 5 p.tn.
Registration Fee Only $3.00
Pre-register at the SA office
Limited Space Available
For more information call 788-2611 ext. 44
Landlord Lien
Lookouts
Students as Tenants
rock'n'roll
with
BUGS
HENDERSON
THURS., FRI., & SAT.,
NOV. 30, DEC. 1, 2
COLLEGE STUDENTS!
Work on tsmporory jot} assignments during school bresks. Norr?!! offers top p—y
and there is no fee. We have clerical as well as light industrial (warehouse) jobs
for a day, a week or longer. You can earn a minimum of $250.00 during the
Christmas Holidays. Go to work when you want. Join the many people who sup-
plement college expenses by working when and where you want with the com-
pany where people make the difference.
NO FEE
NO CONTRACT
REFERRAL BONUSES
DALLAS
Downtown
Irving
Richardson
HOUSTON
Southwest
Northwest
Downtown
Region
SAN
ANTONIO
TULSA
(214)742-8831
(214)254-9121
(214)783-7047
(713)960-1060
(713)682-0031
(713)225-5164
(713)960-1092
(512)828-2506
(918)664-1220
SEPNlCESdNC.
OFFICES COAST TO COAST____
LOOK IN THE WHITE PAGES AND CALL THE
NORRELL OFFICE NEAREST YOU
Photo* by JUDV COBB
DALLAS (AP)—Thousands of Texas
drug addicts are stepping to a new beat,
and the sound is a cadence of hope for
those living in the shade of mind-
clouding chemicals.
Bob Meehan is the Pied Piper of
Houston, leading a parade of drug
abusers in search for a place in the sun.
A former drug addict and convict,
Meehan founded the Palmer Drug
Abuse Program, which its National Ex-
ecutive Director Ed Leach calls the
“treatment alternative for drug abuse.”
But to former drug abusers and their
families, working to salvage lives and
personalities ravaged by mind-altering
drugs, the program represents the last
best hope.
“I wanted to kill myself three or four
times,” said Mark, a 16-year-old Dallas
high school student, who pressured by
his sixth-grade classmates, began using
drugs four years ago.
FREE OF mind-altering chemicals for
six months, Mark credits a feeling of
“strength and unity” and “luve” at
PDAP with his new found sobriety.
“We do not believe the solution to
chemical abuse can be found in another
chemical,” said Leach, a former addict.
“Getting high is a way of life, a coping
mechanism. Instead of chemicals we give
them friends and relationships and love.
The key is the constant affirmation that
‘people care about me.’ ”
And Leach said, “There is a lot of
healing in caring. Lonely and discon-
solate persons find “the feeling that
people care is mind-boggling.”
“I was living a lie,” said Jim, the
20-year-old son of an affluent Dallas
family. “I thought people liked and
respected me because I was into drugs.
I picked friends who were into dope. I
burned all my trails behind me."
Jim began “smoking dope" when he
was 15. After he graduated to "hard"
drugs, he began dealing to supply his
habit.
“I had to start again, I had to he rig-
orously honest, change my morals, and
conduct a personal inventory.”
AT PDAP, Jim said he found a way to
deal with his feelings of fear and inade-
quacy. “I found hope and trust and
love."
Members embrace each other with
contagious excitement at PDAP
meetings in a genuine display of affec-
tion that transcends superficial cor-
diality and cuts right to the core of peo-
ple who care about people.
“I found peace of mind for the first
time in my life,” said Jean, an alcoholic
mother of a drug abuser. “For me
PDAP means that my son will live in-
stead of die."
Jean has been a member of the parent
group for 2 Vi years, prior to her involve-
ment she lived in fear of the son she
could not understand and felt saddled
with guilt because of his problem.
“I meet people with similar ex-
periences, I know now it is not really my
fault and J learned to feel good about
myself,” said Jean.
It’s exactly that sense of self-worth
that Leach said gives drug abusers the
strength to overcome their habit.
IF SOBRIETY and self-esteem are the
gospels of the PDAP, Meehan is the
evangelist. PDAP supporters say he
struggled alone to find a path hack from
addiction and prison, and now has
dedicated his life to making it a well-
traveled highway.
Meehan was digging ditches when an
Episcopalian priest persuaded him to
talk to a group of teenagers about his
battle with drug addiction
From that talk sprang a program
Leach said has now affected more than
20,000 lives and is growing by leaps and
bounds.
There are PDAP centers in Houston,
San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth, Beau-
mont, Austin, Galveston, San Angelo
and Denver. This spring it will expand
into West Texas, and future plans call
for centers in other states and Canada.
“We are having success problems,”
said Leach, "we cannot expand fast
enough to meet the demand from com-
munities wanting programs.”
But Meehan refuses to give in to de-
mands until the program is ready to ex-
pand. "We are not going to run the risk
of damaging this program by being in a
hurry.”
FORMER DRUG addicts now living
“chemically free lives" are trained as
counselors. Leach said they have more
credibility with participants and under-
stand better than anyone else the
problems and emotions of a drug abuser
trying to follow Meehan’s footsteps.
The program does have medical
detoxification centers, but for the most
part participants are treated on an out-
patient, strictly voluntary basis, said
Leach.
"The great thing about our program
and what sets it apart from other
programs is that it works,” said Leach.
The list of PDAP trustees and finan-
cial supporters in Dallas reads like a
“Who’s Who” in civic circles.
Mayor Bob Folsom, a vocal supporter
of PDAP, said it draws that support
because it has been “successful at getting
some Dallas kids off drugs.”
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Kelsey, Rick. The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 52, Ed. 1 Friday, December 1, 1978, newspaper, December 1, 1978; Denton, TX. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1002622/m1/6/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.