The Light of Truth Center, Inc.
By Ursula V. Battle
Providing Housing to Women Recovering
From Drug Addiction
The property at 224 N. Patterson Park Avenue was in bad shape. The former store and office building was literally falling apart and in dire need of expensive, major renovations. Vaile Leonard was on a downhill spiral. Addicted to heroin and alcohol, Leonard recalled once being so disoriented she couldn’t find her way home although she was just four blocks away.
While 224 N. Patterson Park is a physical structure, and the 49-year-old Leonard is a physical being, the two mirror the other’s story of renovation, rebirth, and renewal. Patterson Park is now a beautiful building, while Leonard who has been clean for 19 years and now an ordained minister, is a confident, determined, driven woman who seemingly emits an anointed glow when she enters a room.
Leonard is the Founder/CEO of The Light of Truth Center (LTC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing safe and supportive housing in an environment conducive to recovery, transition and restoration for women recovering from addictions. It was only fitting that 224 N. Patterson Park would be the home of Light of Truth’s Jefferson-Jones House.
The Jefferson Jones Center held an Open House in February and is named after the late Rev. Ann Jefferson, the first minister of One God One Thought Center, Inc. on Coronado Road and the church’s current Senior Minister, the Rev. Bernette L. Jones.
“That event marked the completion of a three-year project,” said Leonard who attends the church. “Rev. Jones taught me how to build and the church within, and Rev. Jones was the wind beneath my wings that really encouraged me.”
LTC also operates a home located at 1736 Payson Street for women recovering from substance abuse. Women living at LTC work on a self-improvement plan while living as a family unit to support their own and each other’s recovery process.
The Payson Street home has been credited with helping dozens of women overcome their drug addiction. Leonard is being honored during the The Baltimore Times 25th Anniversary Celebration as a “Positive People Award” Honoree.
“I am in long-term recovery and the basis of recovery are the principles - surrender, hope, faith, courage, self- integrity, willingness, humility, brotherly love, perseverance, and service,” said Leonard. “Those are the principles in which I live my life and built Light of Truth.”
She added, “The intention is to raise a person’s consciousness. It’s not about warehousing. The Patterson Park location is permanent supportive housing, while Payson Street is transitional housing. We have wrap-around services to support women in their recovery.”
For almost 13 years, LTC has been an innovator in women’s addiction recovery. Leonard, who is on a mission to ensure that women seeking to overcome addiction aren’t living in deplorable conditions, recalled an unforgettable experience of picking up a woman from a recovery house.
“The house was filthy. It looked more like a shooting gallery than a recovery house. Instantly, I was touched and overcome with grief. I sobbed when I came out of there, and could barely compose myself. I have been moved by that experience until this day.”
The Payson Street location is a neat home, while its newest counterpart on Patterson Park Avenue looks like it could don the pages of Better Homes & Garden Magazine with its breathtaking furniture, recessed lighting, shiny new hardwood floors and other amenities that rival upscale homes. Funding for the renovations was provided by The Weinberg Foundation, Network 2000, and other donors. Leonard said LTC raised $400,000 for the project.
“If you want to heal a person, you can’t put them in the same environment they came out of,” said Leonard. “Some feel they would be grateful to live in any condition. That is unacceptable to my soul.”
Rev. Jones recalled when he first saw the Patterson Avenue location. “It was pretty shabby and worn out,” recalled Jones. “I said, ‘well, I’ll just wait and see what good God will bring out of this.’ I did not go back until the day of the opening reception. I was absolutely astounded. The space was so transformed it would be an honor for anyone to live there. It was then that it really hit me. What an honor to have my name on a building of this caliber and used to raise the consciousness of women about what is possible for their lives. To God Be The Glory!”
Future plans include opening a third facility on Orleans Street. “I just wanted to get sisters off the street and put them in a clean and safe environment,” said Leonard. “God revealed the vision to me piece by piece. I was given my mantra recovery transition, and restoration. God’s hand has been in it from the very beginning. God just has a way.”
For more information about LTC visit www.lightoftruthcenter.org.
This is the first of a four-part installment about The Light of Truth Center, Inc. (LTC) Founded by Vaile Leonard, a former heroin addict. LTC provides safe and supportive housing for women recovering from addictions. The series will also include: Part II: Stories of Addiction and Recovery, Part III: More Stories of Addiction and Recovery and Part IV: Light of Truth’s Successful Approach.
Next Week - Part II: Stories of Addiction and Recovery.
Positive stories about positive people! The Baltimore Times, May 6 - 12, 2011 (www.baltimoretimesonline.com) Page 13
Light of Truth Center
3308 Kyle Court Baltimore, MD 21244
Telephone: (443) 393-2109
Email: info@lightoftruthcenter.org
Website: http://lightoftruth.homestead.com/
The Light of Truth Center, Inc. is dedicated to providing safe and supportive housing for women recovering from substance abuse. The Center’s facility, located at 1736 Payson Street, offers supportive services such as employment training, financial services, case management, dental hygiene, and support groups. Women living at Light of Truth work on a self-improvement plan while living as a family unit to support their own and each other’s recovery process.
Executive Director and Founder Vaile Leonard is extremely grateful for all the support the organization has gotten and continues to receive. “We are truly on the verge of phenomenal growth and teetering on the brink of greatness,” said Leonard. “In the words of Dr. Iyanla Vanzant, ‘you can do good all by yourself, but you need people to help you be great.’”
For almost twelve years, The Light of Truth Center has been an innovator in women’s addiction recovery that continually researches, designs, and tests new concepts in an effort to help heal its clients and end the cycle of addiction in women. Some of the concepts include inviting women to fellowship with other women that are successful in business, offering workshops that broaden the women’s views on life issues, and participating in the Annual Narcotics Annonymous Convention, which surrounds them with hundreds of other women in recovery. The Center also advocates for the women it serves through grassroots and national initiatives.
Core Beliefs of The Light of Truth Center:
1. Believes recovery is possible and everyone has the right to recover regardless of her ability to pay.
2. Believes all souls can heal.
3. Stands on integrity and does everything in a spirit of genuine love and compassion.
4. Holds the vision of what’s possible for a woman until see can see it for herself.
5. Serves the needs of women in a holistic manner and provides a safe space for the recovery of the physical, mental
and spiritual aspects of a woman.
6. Honors the dignity and esteem of all women.
7. Gives women the choice and opportunity for a new way of life.
8. Loves woman until they can learn to love themselves.
9. Believes women are people and not statistics.
10. Believes all women possess positive life skills that unfold through recovery, transition and restoration.
The Light of Truth Center relies heavily on committed volunteers within the organization. To read about the Volunteer Orientation process and see available volunteer positions, go to www.lightoftruthcenter.org/volunteer.html or call 443-393-2109.
The Center is also in the process of renovating a new building that will serve as permanent supportive housing for women in recovery who are presently employed. The renovations are scheduled to be completed by December 31, 2010. At this time, The Light of Truth Center is actively seeking donations of box springs, bed frames, mattresses, dressers, etc. Call 443-393-2109 or email info@lightoftruthcenter.org to see how you can help.
Giving Back: Local Organizations Helping Maryland Women
Author: Sarah E. Baltic
3 December 2010
Lucent Employee Shines The Light on Addiction
March 4, 2004
After an uncle left Vaile Leonard with his house, she opened up a center for women recovering from drug addiction. Since the program's beginning, it has served 30 women in total.
A desire to make things better is a theme that connects the professional and personal sides of Vaile Leonard's life.
At work, Leonard is a Lucent Worldwide Services (LWS) member of technical staff in Hunt Valley, Md., who performs quality audits of the engineering work on U.S.-based Services orders. Looking to improve the way data for those audits was collected, Leonard created an innovative program for Hunt Valley that worked so well, it became the foundation for what is now a national program, according to DeAnn Hargis, director, Engineering and Installation Quality for North America, LWS, in Alpharetta, Ga.
Figuring out how to make things better and devising innovative programs to do it fills up the other part of her life as well.
When she's not at work, Leonard is the director and founding visionary of the Light of Truth Center in Baltimore, where she is helping women recovering from drug addiction make improvements in their lives.
Home Making
Leonard had been thinking about how to start such a program for years. In recovery herself for more than a decade, she had experienced first-hand what kinds of approaches to addiction worked and what didn't, and had a clear vision of what a successful program should be.
“Recovery is a change of ideas, a change of perspective. You don’t get that overnight.”- Vaile Leonard
When a favorite uncle died in 1999 and left her his house, Leonard began to implement her innovative vision of a home filled with love and encouragement where women could take the time they needed to heal "from the inside out." Explained Leonard, "recovery is a change of ideas, a change of perspective. You don't get that overnight."
With aid from Lucent organizations like WILL (Women in Leadership at Lucent) and ABLE (Alliance of Black Lucent Technologies Employees), as well as individual donors, Leonard filled her uncle's house with beds, curtains, kitchen equipment and books.
But furnishings were only part of making a home. From the start, Leonard and volunteer staff members at Light of Truth Center focused on creating an environment that would make residents feel safe, respected and loved — feelings most of them would not have experienced for many years. "We look at drug addiction as a disease, not criminal activity," Leonard said.
To achieve the right environment, she limited the number of residents to six, so that the atmosphere would be intimate and family-like. She insisted on rules that would keep the house a pleasant, safe place for everyone. She didn't put a cap on how long women could stay, though most have felt that six to nine months was enough. And, she found ways to teach them skills that many people take for granted.
"Treatment programs can remove drugs from the body," she said. "But they can't supply people with life skills they may never have mastered."
Many of the women had to learn or re-learn certain skills, including decision-making, having conversations or identifying emotions. Leonard and certified volunteer counselors work with the women to help them learn what they need to know.
"We tell them, 'If you want a new life, you can have it.' We encourage them, and try to give them the skills they need to make it happen. We're geared to helping them be successful," she said.
On a Journey
“We operate under the 'each one reach one' philosophy. The women who have lived here go out and help others.” Vaile Leonard
Since the program's beginning it has served 30 women, only three of whom have returned to addiction. One of those three is currently back at Light of Truth Center.
"We operate under the 'each one reach one' philosophy," Leonard said. "The women who have lived here go out and help others. Three of them are now directing similar centers in the area. The others have found housing and jobs and are proud of themselves and what they've accomplished."
Recently, the program held its first fundraiser, a big success. The Center relies almost entirely on the generosity of donors, and Leonard's friends at Lucent are still important contributors.
In fact, at Christmas, when it looked as though there would be no gifts for the residents of Light of Truth Center, Brenda Budzynski, LWS Engineering director at Hunt Valley, packed a big red stocking with presents for everyone at the house.
"They were just little tokens," Budzynski said. "Toiletries, watches — things women would like and need. Vaile said they were all delighted. Many of them come to the house with only the clothes on their backs. And many had not had a Christmas for years. It was just my small contribution to her work."
"Vaile is on a journey," Hargis said. "I'm amazed at what she's accomplished, and I hope I can help her in this awesome work."
— by Suzanne Sidhu
Ms Vaile Leonard
3308 Kyle Court
Baltimore, Maryland 21244
2004
2004Greetings Ms. Leonard,
We are honored to announce that The Advisory Board of the Black Wall Street National Conference
has chosen you to receive this years 2004 BWSNC Sankofa Humanitarian Award.
This award is given to persons with outstanding dedication and intense personal commitment to
improving the well being of others.
We at the Black Wall Street National Conference recognize you and The Light Truth Center, Inc. as being a important bridge for the improvement in the lives of women as they transition from the prison system, and/or drug treatment programs back into society.
The 2004 BWSNC Sankofa Humanitarian Award will be presented to you at our annual national
conference Awards Luncheon, Sunday, August 1st, 2004 in Durham, North Carolina. BWSNC will make and pay for your hotel and round trip travel arrangements between Baltimore, MD and
Durham, NC.
Please notify BWSNC by June 30th, 2004 if you will honor us by accepting this award.
It is not mandatory that you be present to accept the award.
BWSNC wishes you spiritual blessings and continued success with The Light of Truth Center, Inc.
Yours in PEACE, Health, and Prosperity,
Edna Clement Swan
Founder/Chairperson
Black Wall Street National Conference®
From July 30 - August 1, 2004 - History was made.
The First Black Wall Street National Conference was held in Durham, NC.
Our illustrious leader, Vaile Leonard, was presented with the 2004 BWSNC Sankofa Humanitarian Award.
Her accepted speech was spirit led and received a standing ovation!
Making A Difference...
Each issue of On Purpose Woman will highlight an area woman who is making a difference in her community.
Vaile Leonard is one of those women you notice. She has a strong presence, yet warmth that drew me in right away the first time we met. It is a wonderful combination for the work she does with the women at the Light of Truth Center, a Recovery House she founded in 1999.
I spent a couple of hours with Vaile and three of the women who live at the Center asking questions and listening to stories about their lives. I left there very moved by what they shared.
Vaile is very open about her path and what brought her to this work. She is in recovery herself and says she had a real time of it. Trying to get clean was very difficult, staying clean even more so. The problems with programs that were; available left her with a deep desire to do something different. To provide a place that feels like home, where the women can feel the love and not feel like they are in a facility. In Vaile's words, "Often the more conventional programs treat the case and not the person. I don't receive grants so I have the freedom to find what works and try it. Each woman who lives here can be on her own path and do what is best for her situation.” Vaile's uncle passed away and left her the house. She told me he was a wonderful man and a pillar of the community. This is a monument to him in some ways.
Vaile had the idea for a recovery house about seven years ago but at the time it was too big an idea for her. "I was apprehensive. I didn't think I had enough education or knowledge. People at other centers told me I couldn't do it the way I wanted. It was too big for me but not too big for God. I just got out of the way and let things start to flow."
The Center will take anyone who has a true desire to recover. They help the residents with resources and a plan for their life. The criteria for success in some programs is that people have a job, a home, go to school, etc. At the Light of Truth Center they are concerned with recovery first. Without that the job, home and school are difficult to maintain. Vaile says "We encourage the women to get grounded, strengthen themselves, stay here as long as you need to stay here and let us love you until you can learn to love yourself.
The vision for Light of Truth Center is huge. A Recovery House, Transition House, and Apartments so a woman can go from recovery to transition to restoration. And then a hub where they can have NA and M meetings and a recovery store where the residents can learn business skills and help the community.
The Center holds no more than six women at any time. It is a homey, pleasant environment; a small back porch has been converted into a cozy "reading nook.” This home allows a woman to just "be.” The women here tell me they weren't accustomed to a loving environment. They didn't trust other people who showed love. It's hard to trust others when you don't trust yourself. Here they can learn to trust and to be responsible and to make choices. To know there are other ways to be in the world.
Lisa, a tall striking woman who has been at the Center for five months, has been an addict for 18 years. She had been in over ten different treatment centers and recovery houses and still couldn't stay clean. Lisa said "I like it here because it gives me responsibility. I've been clean 15 months. I'm working the program. I never did that before. I stayed clean by willpower and when that was up I relapsed. It's like home here. We get along fine. Last week I felt like using. I shared it with the ladies in the house and that helped a lot. I would not have done that before. I start school in December for three months. I'm real proud of myself. I can be responsible again. I can be honest. I share more. I'm more motivated to do things. I love it here."
Christine has been an addict for over 30 years. She has a strong voice that speaks with intention and clarity. Christine knows very well where she has been and now knows where she is going. She said, "last year in October I was just tired. I went into a treatment center and then I came here on December 10th. I am in school now learning Office Technology. Things have been happening. Sometimes I get kind of scared because they are happening so fast. My children and other family members are back in my life. People are looking at me differently. I'm different. I'm not trying to please people anymore. I like who I am.” Christine is the House Manager at Light of Truth, a responsible position. When a city inspector said they needed someone living there who had been certified in Food Management, Christine took it upon herself to take the required classes. Her Certificate came in the mail the day we met. Another proud moment for someone who hadn't finished a lot in her life prior to this.
Theresa looks like someone you'd want to be your best girlfriend. An addict for 19 years, she started out talking quietly and as she told her \story became more animated. She said, "in September 2002 I went into detox for three days. I started learning about me and tried to discover why I kept going out there and using. When I'm drugging I isolate from my family. When you don't see your mother for five years straight, something's wrong. I've also been in jail. I made up my mind I had to do something different. I was determined not to go back. In June of this year I came to Light of Truth. I was scared. I never had goals before. I set little goals and accomplished them. Being here gave me a chance to be the woman I was lacking for so long. I take on responsibilities. People trust me. I grow with the process. My children get to come here on family day. My sister is a doctor and my family does well. I'm the bad seed. It's time to make my mother proud of me. "
In order to continue to grow the "huge vision" for the Light of Truth Center there are many needs. I asked Vaile what her most immediate needs are as I know there are women reading this article who can help provide them, whether directly or by referring resources. She would love to find people who can volunteer to do Fundraising, Grant Writing, Program Developing, and Accounting & Case Management. If you'd like to help in this way or by sending a check to help support the Center, you can reach them at 410-496-9227.
Publisher & Author - Ginny Robinson
The Light of Truth Center featured in
The Premier Issue
of
On Purpose Woman
January 2004
Fully Restored
By Afefe Tyehimba
Inside A Whole Women's Recovery House In North Penn
Light of Truth Recovery House founder Vaile Leonard (Center) with one of the center's former residents, Shelly Tanner (left), and one of its current residents, Keisha Betha.
Photo By Michelle Gienow
Today, at 49, Leonard has long since regrouped, having gone from full-time addict to quality engineer at Lucent Technologies. But perhaps a starker measure of her transformation is what she has been doing at the end of her workday during the last year. In June 2000, Leonard opened the Light of Truth Center, a nonprofit recovery house for women in Baltimore's Penn North neighborhood. Since then she has watched three other women reclaim not only sobriety but also successful careers and lives much like her own.
The fledgling center is staffed by volunteers and is operating on a shoestring budget made up of donations and the leftovers of Leonard's paycheck from Lucent; it's also operating without a state license, which means that unlike traditional recovery programs, Light of Truth clients don't get substance-abuse treatment, clinical therapy, or services for children. But none of that bothers Leonard, whose mission for Light of Truth is simply to offer recovering female addicts unconditional love and an unwavering commitment to help them become fully restored members of their communities. It's that mission, vs more standard, medically driven treatment models, that Leonard is banking on for the program to eventually attract additional funding, expand, and persevere.
"I have an overwhelming desire to provide for folk what I didn't feel was provided for me," Leonard says, citing her myriad failed attempts to get clean through recovery programs that stressed only detoxification, not restoration. "There's a saying that you can be clean and crazy [unless] you begin the recovery process--and recovery is to regain, recapture yourself. I wanted women to be able to do that in a loving environment because most of us haven't been loved or haven't been shown love."
In its brief history, Light of Truth has racked up its share of success stories, with some women going on to work in white-collar jobs and even become homeowners. But more importantly, it does its small part to fulfill an urgent need. According to the Washington-based National Institute on Drug Abuse, 48 percent of all Baltimore emergency hospital admissions in 2000 were related to heroin use. And of the nearly 60,000 addicts who sought treatment throughout Maryland in 1999, more than 30 percent were women.
"There's definitely a gap in residential services and emergency shelter for women," Healthcare for the Homeless President Jeff Singer says. "We provide outpatient services, but when people need a place to stay at night, you won't find it."
Pam Talabis, executive director of Baltimore's Dayspring Phoenix House, a nonprofit organization that provides transitional and permanent housing for recovering women and children, says that without stable housing, attempts to get clean often remain just that. "Sometimes women who get evicted or doubled up with relatives wind up residing in environments that are not drug-free and not safe, and that really inhibits the [recovery] process," she says.
Ken Smith, a recovering addict and colleague of Leonard's at Lucent who heads up collections for Light of Truth at the company, puts it more bluntly. "If every waking moment people around you are getting high, you will use. You can get Detox or you can go to jail, but short of that, you're going to be in the environment to continue to use," he says. Smith went to college through a program at the Maryland Center for Veterans while he was getting clean, but "there are no programs like that for women," he says. "There are no facilities to help them get back on their feet."
Because Leonard knows this firsthand, she incorporated Light of Truth in 1999, hoping to eventually launch a recovery facility for women. When an uncle died and she inherited his house near North Avenue and Payson Street early last year, she quickly turned the tidy three-bedroom abode with piled carpeting and blooming plants into a four-bed recovery house with an off-site apartment for transitional housing. She welcomed women who came to her by word of mouth, and she bundled hugs with strict house rules. Women who "are serious," Leonard says, are eligible for a year of residency, and a contract spells out terms for nominal rent (pending the client's ability to pay), curfews, dress codes, mandatory Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings, and shared household chores. In addition to safe housing, Light of Truth offers workshops on hygiene, job skills, and holistic healing therapies.
And while Leonard's center is a far cry from larger, more comprehensive and well-funded facilities, its record, like those of other recovery programs, is one of mixed results. Of the six women who have resided there to date, three have made great strides toward what Leonard terms "restoration," or starting new lives.
Seven years ago, Mae, a nurse who asked that her last name not be used, overcame a 26-year bout with pills and powders and crack cocaine--an addiction that had turned her from a "respectable professional who was in denial" into an unemployed petty thief and prostitute who might admit or deny anything to get high. But while, after two years of homelessness and several trips to emergency rooms (where she "could get off the street and be safe"), a heavy dose of NA and various other recovery programs helped her get clean and return to work as a nurse, she says she still didn't feel whole until she met Leonard in late 1999. "It was around Christmas time, and I was lonely," Mae says, her eyes welling up. "Vaile invited me over. You have no idea what that did for me. For the first time, I felt like somebody cared." Mae rented Light of Truth's transitional apartment while rebuilding her credit, and earlier this year she bought a West Baltimore house one block away from the one she'd lost years ago while drugging. Leonard says two other women who have lived in the apartment have also become homeowners.
Leonard acknowledges, though, that Light of Truth is still "green" in many respects, and not all the recovery house's alumnae have found all that they needed there. "I left because I've got problems with authority," says Shelly Tanner, a recovering heroin addict with bipolar disorder who left the center after just four months to live with a friend. But while the structure and strict rules at Light of Truth--such as the requirement that residents be up and dressed by 9 o'clock each morning--nagged at Tanner, she praises the center for doing what Leonard believes sets it apart from more traditional recovery programs. "I'm still working on my issues," Tanner says, "but I know there was love [t]here."
Such sentiments are what binds the women at Light of Truth who, whatever their current economic status, want to feel whole and full of potential--maybe for the first time ever. "There's a saying that addiction is a disease that's baffling, cunning, and insidious," Leonard says. "But we know there is a flip side. And we are here to follow women all the way there."
It was 1992 when Vaile Leonard finally bottomed out. Twenty years had passed since a high school friend introduced her to heroin; it had been 10 years since her last dose of methadone. "But it was alcohol," Leonard recalls, "that brought me to my knees." One day, zombied on boilermakers, Leonard, then 42, wandered along the streets of West Baltimore where she grew up. "I got lost, even though I was only four blocks from home. That was when I knew I'd lost my mind," she says.
At that first On Purpose Woman interview, Christine showed me her new certificate in food processing, something she would put to use as House Manager at LTC. Christine observed that she’d never completed much in her life, so this certificate meant a lot. She recalled that the first certificate she ever received was at graduation from detox. “I was so happy you would have thought I’d just gotten my master’s degree or something!”
Last December, Christine’s 38 year-old son was murdered on the street in Baltimore over fifty dollars. An active drug user, he wasn’t ready for the help Christine wanted to give him. “When my son died,” said Christine, “things came up for me that I thought were healed.” She sought a therapist who has helped her. Christine told me, “As bad as losing my son was, using drugs did not cross my mind. This was a big test. The desire to use is just not there anymore.”
Christine’s other son went to prison at age 16 for murder. He recently came home after 14 years, and she is helping him to adjust. With no drug problem, he has focused on seeking employment. She admits that it’s a challenge not to “mother him too much,” as he is still 16 in her eyes. Christine’s 35 year-old daughter—and great support—is pursuing her master’s degree and opening a group home.
Christine continued, “I have done things that other people take for granted but for me were milestones. I got a library card and a driver’s license. I am working on my GED. And, imagine! An addict like me has a passport! I’ve been to places I had only seen on TV—Las Vegas, San Francisco and an island cruise. This year, I went to Italy, and next year, my daughter and I are planning a trip to Morocco. I also own my own home. What is bizarre is that I lived in this same block 30 years ago. I left LTC and moved into my home on January 15th.”
Publisher & Author - Ginny Robinson
Three Women - Two Years Later
by Ginny Robertson
2006
Lisa Crawford seemed surprised when she read the article about herself and two other residents of the Light of Truth Center (LTC) in the premier issue of On Purpose Woman magazine. Vaile Leonard, founder of LTC, a recovery house for women in Baltimore, was our “Woman Making a Difference.” In that article, I described Lisa as “tall and striking.” “Tall” she understood—but “striking”? Two years later, I think Lisa understands.
Lisa had been in more than ten recovery houses and treatment centers prior to LTC, without success. But LTC fostered that all-important readiness to stop using. There, Lisa found herself and had the time and support to decide what she wanted for her life. She set goals and had all the loving support she needed to attain them. Lisa lived at LTC for 21 months and celebrated three years of sobriety on August 12th.
Lisa’s 18 years as an addict left her without many workplace skills, but she never forgot how to type. Lisa attended the Workforce and Technology Center, studied Office Technology and learned all the Microsoft software packages. Her 80 wpm typing speed proved to be a real plus, as Lisa was accepted into a three-month State internship program. Afterwards, she passed the State employment test and got a permanent job as a Secretary III.
Lisa loves her job. “My duties include answering phones, using Word or Excel, processing timesheets and distributing paychecks. Can you believe an addict like me is giving people their checks?” She is most proud of the goals she has set and achieved: getting her driver’s license, attending school, having her own apartment—with digital cable, Internet, home phone, food, all the necessities and much more.
And guess what! She is engaged to be married next year. “I live a more responsible, productive and honest life. I am motivated. If I put my mind to it, I do it,” says Lisa. “Giving back to the community is especially important to me. When I see homeless people just needing something to eat or a friendly voice to hear, I’m available, because I’ll never forget where I came from. I donate to Health Care for the Homeless through payroll deduction. It feels overwhelming to be able to give. I remember that someone was there for me, and I want to be there for others.”
Christine Moore, a heroin and cocaine addict for over 30 years, now has three years of clean time. At LTC, Christine, “really got into the program. I went to groups and listened. I took classes on chronic relapse and coping skills. One of the things that really worked for me is that recovery came first. I had a history of child abuse and neglect from my mother so I did not trust other women. I started to trust more, especially as I met others who had been in my shoes as a child. I thought I was the only one.”
Theresa Brown had been at the Light of Truth Center for five months when I met her. Theresa’s decision to get help after 19 years addicted to heroin and alcohol came when she was staying in an area with a lot of drug activity. She’d been hanging out in a house with no electricity or running water—just a place to get high. Theresa said, “I woke up one morning and I felt so alone and sad. I knew that if I died no one would know or care. I was just another drug addict.”
Theresa went through detox and a treatment program at Baltimore’s Gardenzia. Afterwards, she lived at LTC. When asked what worked for her at LTC, she answered, “It was the structure. It was someone else telling me how to stay clean—someone who had been there. I knew I couldn’t do it on my own. They had a rule that we had to attend 12-Step meetings. That was a huge help,” she said.
"At those meetings, I met people I could relate to, people I could talk to about my past and not feel so ashamed. In the past, I always felt less than. I fit in at these meetings. I had also fit into the drug world. But this time people just like me were doing life clean. I liked that a lot better.” After another three months, Theresa left LTC clean and sober.
The thing I most remember about Theresa from my first interview is her desire to make her mother proud of her, so I asked her about that. “My mother died last December,” she told me. “But she died seeing me clean and self-sufficient. I’m very proud of that. Her death was also an opportunity to know for sure that no matter what happens, I don’t have to use drugs or alcohol. I got very clear that even if I used, she wasn’t coming back. It would be a temporary way to ease the pain. Now I believe I can tackle whatever comes my way and move to the other side.”
Theresa has two daughters—21 years old and 7 years old. Theresa’s sister has taken care of her 7 year-old from birth, as Theresa was not able to be a mother to her. She is now moving slowly back into her daughter’s life with the ultimate goal of their living together.
Theresa observed that she had never had goals before recovery. At LTC, she started to set little goals and accomplish them. One was to get a job where she could learn more administrative skills and help others. And now, she works at Gardenzia as a receptionist. “I never miss a day of work, and I love what I do. I am so grateful for this job.”
She continues, “I am the first person that people coming into the facility see, and I sometimes share my story and give them encouragement and hope. I never dreamed I could do something like this, as I was always so shy. I have overcome a lot of the shyness and can now express how I feel about where I was then and where I am now. I’m very proud of myself and it shows!”
Since I met Lisa, Christine and Theresa two years ago, our paths have crossed often and they have become my friends. I am so proud of what they have accomplished and who they are. They are but three examples of the miracles that happen every day in the lives of those recovering from addictions. The women and men who deal with these issues need our support.
The 2008 class of Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Fellows—a select group of executive directors of community-based non-profit agencies serving disadvantaged individuals—has been named by the University of Baltimore's Schaefer Center for Public Policy. The 2008 class will embark on a year-long professional development program designed to enhance leadership skills and promote collaboration among the region’s nonprofits by attending their first retreat on Monday, March 10.
Through a competitive selection process, the group of 20 executive directors from agencies that serve disadvantaged residents in the Baltimore metropolitan area was selected for the program. Members of the 2008 class and the organizations they represent include Sabree K. Akinyele, Partnership for Learning, Inc.; Tim Almaguer, The Friends of Patterson Park; Shirl R. Byron, NorthEast Development Alliance, Inc.; Patricia S. Cassatt, People’s Community Health Center, Inc.; Mya Davis, Southeast Youth Academy; Jodi Finkelstein, Domestic Violence Center of Howard County; Carlos Hardy, National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence of Maryland; Karen Heyward-West, Franciscan Center Baltimore; Barbara Huston, Partners in Care; Grace Lee, Maryland New Directions; Vaile Leonard, The Light of Truth Center, Inc.; Joann M. Levy, Women’s Housing Coalition, Inc.; Janice Lockwood, Echo House Multi-Service Center; John Nethercut, Public Justice Center, Inc.; John Nugent, Planned Parenthood of Maryland; Bevin Philip, Eudaimonia Foundation Corp.; Selwyn I. Ray, Maryland Mentoring Partnership; John Ruffin, Reservoir Hill Improvement Council; Karen Stokes, Greater Homewood Community Corporation; and Felix M. Torres Colon, Neighborhood Housing Services of Baltimore.
The program will include a series of four off-site retreats facilitated by UB faculty including Ann Cotten, director of the Schaefer Center; Lenneal Henderson, professor in the School of Public Affairs and senior research associate with the Schaefer Center; and Joseph McNeely, a research associate with the Schaefer Center and nationally recognized expert in nonprofit leadership. The March 10 retreat will take place at the Pearlstone Retreat and Conference Center in Reisterstown. Presenters and panelists will include nationally recognized experts from nonprofit organizations, as well as local colleges and universities, businesses, consulting firms, and government agencies.
“We are very excited to begin working with this class of Weinberg Fellows,” Cotten said. “This is a terrific opportunity to make a difference in the Baltimore community by enhancing the skills of the fellows, supporting their professional development, and facilitating collaborative partnerships among the fellows.”
Applications for the 2009 class will be accepted beginning this coming Aug. 1. Executive directors interested in receiving applications for the 2009 program can place their names on the mailing list on the program’s Web site at http://weinbergfellows.org.
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Fellows Program was created by the Weinberg Foundation in Hawaii in 1992 as a leadership development program for executive directors of community-based, nonprofit agencies serving disadvantaged individuals. Introduced in Baltimore in 2002, the program has flourished by providing hands-on interactive sessions focused on improving key management and leadership skills, exploring important issues and challenges, and providing opportunities to network with other agency leaders. Almost 100 Weinberg Fellows have completed the program in Baltimore.
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation is the 22nd largest private foundation in the United States, with approximately $2 billion in assets. It annually distributes approximately $100 million to a wide range of charitable organizations. The foundation is dedicated to assisting the poor through operating and capital grants to direct service organizations primarily located in Baltimore, Hawaii, Northeastern Pennsylvania, New York, Israel, and the former Soviet Union. Grants are focused on meeting basic human needs and self-sufficiency. Within that focus, emphasis is placed on the elderly and on the Jewish community. Annual grants to Maryland recipients generally have averaged approximately 25 percent of the total amount awarded. The trustees of the foundation are Shale D. Stiller, Alvin Awaya, Donn Weinberg, Barry Schloss and Robert T. Kelly, Jr. More information on the foundation can be found at www.hjweinbergfoundation.org.
The Schaefer Center for Public Policy is an applied research unit within UB's Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts. The center's mission is to bring the university’s academic expertise to bear in solving problems faced by government and nonprofit organizations. The center offers the following services: strategic planning, performance measurement, program evaluation and analysis, opinion research, management consulting and management training. It is through the Schaefer Center that the University of Baltimore and the Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts meet a central component of the University’s mission of applied research and public service to the Baltimore metropolitan area and to the state of Maryland. To learn more about the Schaefer Center, visit their Web site at http://scpp.ubalt.edu.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the School of Law, the Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts and the Merrick School of Business.
Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Fellows Program
Accepts Class of 2008
Group of 20 Leaders in Non-Profits to Attend Year-Long Leadership Development Program
Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Fellows Program
2008 Weinberg Fellows Graduate
The 2008 class of Weinberg Fellows has completed a year-long professional development program designed to enhance leadership skills and promote collaboration among the region’s nonprofits.
Members of the 2008 class represent nineteen organizations. They include Sabree K. Akinyele, Partnership for Learning, Inc.; Tim Almaguer, The Friends of Patterson Park; Shirl R. Byron, NorthEast Development Alliance, Inc.; Patricia S. Cassatt, People’s Community Health Center, Inc.; Jodi Finkelstein, Domestic Violence Center of Howard County; Carlos Hardy, National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence of Maryland; Karen Heyward-West, Franciscan Center Baltimore; Barbara Huston, Partners in Care; Grace Lee, Maryland New Directions; Vaile Leonard, The Light of Truth Center, Inc.; Joann M. Levy, Women’s Housing Coalition, Inc.; Janice Lockwood, Echo House Multi-Service Center; John Nethercut, Public Justice Center, Inc.; John Nugent, Planned Parenthood of Maryland; Bevin Philip, Eudaimonia Foundation Corp.; Selwyn I. Ray, Maryland Mentoring Partnership; John Ruffin, Reservoir Hill Improvement Council; Karen Stokes, Greater Homewood Community Corporation; and Felix M. Torres Colon, Neighborhood Housing Services of Baltimore.
“The Weinberg Foundation congratulates the 2008 class of Weinberg Fellows,” said Donn Weinberg, trustee of The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. “This program provides leadership training and mentoring for each executive director in the program so that they can cultivate their leadership skills, expand their network and continue to build community resources to sustain their organizations in the future.”
“This class of Weinberg Fellows is a terrific group of nonprofit professionals committed to not only their organization and the people they serve, but also to sustainability and collaboration,” said Dr. Ann Cotten, director of the Schaefer Center for Public Policy at the University of Baltimore and program director for the Weinberg Fellows Program.
Light of Truth Center, Inc. was awarded a capital grant for $100,000 to support renovation costs for eight units of permanent supportive housing in Baltimore City for women in recovery from substance abuse. Supportive services include financial services, support groups, employment training, and case management. Residents must be gainfully employed during their tenancy and work on a self-improvement plan.
We've Only Just Begun
From the beginning The Light of Truth Center has always envision a continuum of care for the participants that it serves. With the opening of our second facility, we've only just begun to realize the second phase of our Mission Statement, "Transition." (..dedicated to providing safe and supportive housing in an environment conducive to recovery, transition and restoration for women recovering from addictions.)
To the Weinberg Foundation we are ever so pleased and elated that they have elected to invest in The Light of Truth Center, Inc.’s mission. We are truly dedicated to providing safe and supportive housing for women recovering from drugs and alcohol. THe Weinberg Foundatons' investment ensures that we are beholden to that mission. We look forward with renewed enthusiasm in expanding our services by providing permanent housing.
Thank you Wenberg Foundation, and our many other loving supporters, for believing in us and for willing to Be the Light for others to receive your blessings.
