ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 10, 1996 TAG: 9601100049
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
TWO DRUG ADDICTS, stranded by the snowstorm that blanketed the area, were among those who found shelter at the Rescue Mission of Roanoke and, possibly, a chance for a better life.
The snow has been a joy for youngsters out of school, a nuisance for those struck with cabin fever, a thing of beauty for lovers of winter wonderlands.
For a couple of others, it may have been a salvation.
Kenneth Moyer and his girlfriend, Patty Duncan, say they are crack addicts. They usually catch a ride to Roanoke from their home in Fincastle to buy the drug, Duncan said Tuesday.
Then "we find what we need and live on the street" until they are ready to return home, she said.
This weekend, Moyer and Duncan were in Roanoke again to buy crack. Again, they were on the streets.
But the weekend snowstorm left them stranded. They found shelter at the Rescue Mission of Roanoke.
Duncan, 27, got a bed, meals and clothing. Moyer, 39, found that - and more.
He re-entered the Rescue Mission's six-month recovery program for men with substance abuse problems.
Moyer was in the program about nine months ago. He dropped out before completing the program and relapsed.
This time, "I thought I'd go on and give it another try," Moyer said, his eye still blackened from a mugging in Roanoke last month. "It's going to be tough."
The program blends a 12-step recovery approach with Bible study, socialization, service assignments, and meetings with a chaplain, said Joy Sylvester-Johnson, the Rescue Mission's director of development. Technically, what Moyer entered was a 14-day reprieve, which gives people who have gone through the program before the time and structure to ensure that they are ready for recovery, she said.
The Rescue Mission has no recovery program for women yet but is developing one, Sylvester-Johnson said. Staffers - in between servicing about 150 people who had sought shelter from the snow - met Tuesday to discuss the program.
"The one distinctive thing about our program is women would be able to keep their children with them while they are in recovery," Sylvester-Johnson said. "We get so many young women here who are addicted to crack and heroin who will not go into a recovery program because it means having to put their children in foster care."
Duncan said she cannot get in touch with the person who dropped them off in Roanoke on Saturday. She called her grandmother in Fincastle, who "told me to stay here until we can get organized," she said.
"I want to get off drugs," Duncan said. "But it's rough right now."
The Roanoke Valley's day and night shelters have had their hands full since the weekend's snowstorm. The Rescue Mission, which usually empties during the day, has had a full house around the clock.
"The hardest part for us is keeping people through the day because there's no place for them to go," Sylvester-Johnson said. "Right now, we're keeping everybody here. When it begins to warm up, we'll send people out to [Roanoke Area Ministries] House just so we can clean up. They'll all be back tonight."
The Salvation Army's shelter for homeless men exceeded its 36-person capacity Monday night and into Tuesday morning.
"This is probably the fullest it's been since I came here four years ago," said Maj. Lynda Delaney, a commander at the Salvation Army Roanoke Corps. "We've had more the last three nights than we would normally."
The Salvation Army sets aside one day each month to take applications for rent and utility assistance. Typically, the organization helps the first 20 people who come in.
The snow failed to deter those in need. Tuesday, 15 applicants showed up.
People wandered in and out of a city shelter at the Roanoke Civic Center on Tuesday, said Bob Chapman, general manager. Most were looking for a meal. The shelter will stay open at least through lunch today, he said.
The Roanoke Area Ministries departed from its usual practices and distributed canned food to people who rely on area food pantries, which were closed because of the weather.
"It drains our own supplies, but you have to do what you have to do," said Wendy Moore, RAM's executive director. "You can't let people go without."
Wendy Snow's three daughters tugged at her as she pored over Tuesday's want ads. Any other day, Snow - a resident of the Rescue Mission's family division since early December - would be out job-hunting.
But with deep snow, three daughters out of school and her car - its tires slick and brakes worn - buried outside, she had little choice but to laugh off the frustration.
"I'm trying my best to get a job and get off" Aid to Families with Dependent Children, said Snow, of Moneta. "But I can't go anywhere."
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/Staff. 1. ``I'm trying my best to get a jobby CNBand get off" AFDC, says Wendy Snow, mother of Brandi, 6, (left) and
Dana, 9. 2. Kenneth Moyer and Patty Duncan found refuge from drugs
and the storm at the Rescue Mission. color.