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The Bristol Herald Courier

Published: September 14, 2009

BY BRYNN ROBERTSON
SPECIAL TO HERALD COURIER

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Simply walking past the group of chatting women in McDonald’s, anyone would know that something was buzzing – something great. More than the aroma of freshly made breakfast foods filled the air as Marjorie Tester, Dr. Marie Crawford, Terri Brewer, Donna Camper and Maria Wagner held bubbling conversation about launching their new nonprofit organization.

“Bristol Recovery Road for Women is unlike anything else in this area. It’s unlike anything else I’ve ever heard of!” Crawford beamed.

Wagner, a local nurse, added: “There is such an immense need for something around here to help recovering addicts, but when you add in the extra stress of being a women with a criminal record, the need simply skyrockets.”

Brewer, who the group hopes will eventually become BRRW’s executive director once the program is in full swing, has been working for more than three years in the Bristol city and Southwest Regional jail systems. Tester, Crawford, Camper and Wagner are the group’s other existing board members.

All five eagerly explained that their program would be designed as a one-year residential recovery program whose participants would be recommended by the judicial system while the women are still incarcerated.

While in prison, these ladies will have to complete a Bible study and application process, as well as a series of interviews before being accepted. Once accepted, each women will live in a residential facility that has enough land for the women to be isolated from the lure of addiction while teaching them to live off the land.

“Self-sufficiency is a lost art,” Brewer said. “So is learning from our elders. It is our hope that we will have volunteers to be dorm moms who will be on campus 24-7 as these women will be under constant care. They, as well as other volunteers, will partner with us to evaluate each participant to find out her strengths and weaknesses. As she begins to overcome her addictions and go through emotional counseling, she will also undergo spiritual counseling as well as classes that will capitalize on skills she already has while furthering mainstream education and incorporating daily living and parenting skills.”

Added Tester: “These women will be making a choice, most of them, to leave behind children with whom they’ve left in the care of foster parents or other family members while incarcerated for another full year in order to make a decision to change their lives for good.”

After completing the one-year program, the graduates will have opportunities to use the staff at Bristol Recovery Road for Women as liaisons with community companies and organizations to find work and long-term housing for themselves and their families, and otherwise incorporate themselves back into becoming contributing members of society.

“Most area recovery programs last no more than 30 days while research shows that it takes six months to a year for someone out of prison to completely recover and reintroduce themselves into society,” Camper said. “Without programs like ours, many of these women will become lost. They will become repeat offenders. They just have nowhere to go.”

In the spring 2009, the ladies were awarded their charter and 501(c)3 nonprofit status. They are now in the development and fundraising stages of implementing their program. While many local businesses and community members already are standing behind the women’s ideas and goals for this organization, the funds must come from somewhere.

“Five years from now,” Tester said, “I hope we are serving 20 women with a volunteer structure in place and sustainability for the next generation. This is not a one-year program. Bristol Recovery Road for Women is something we are building for our community and for the future of our children.”