Dear Family Member:
Thanksgiving. It’s a time for us to gratefully reflect on the blessings we each receive every day from the hand of our Father in heaven. But here at Drug Alternative Program, Thanksgiving also has become a time when our clients look back with appreciation at the way their lives have changed from hopeless to hope-filled. Our graduate, Anthony Frazier, shared his story with us and we want you to see what he is thankful for today.
What DAP Means to Me – I have been free from addiction for 17 years. That is the simplest answer! However, more changes have been manifested in my life 
because of my DAP experience. I now have integrity and am well respected in my community. I can give back to those that are in similar conditions as I 
once was. I can look in the mirror and like what I see.
Before I entered DAP, there was no one in my life that trusted me. My drug of choice was crack cocaine, but I would smoke anything! I could not afford my daily habit, so I had to use people to get what I wanted. There were people that did not like to see me coming due to my lying and manipulative behavior. My whole life was a lie; there was nothing honest about me. My own Mother did not trust me. She feared me, I have never said or even written this before, but she was. She was afraid that I would burn the house down if she put me out. She slept with her door locked and any valuables that she had were locked in the trunk of her car. She hid her purse and her keys.
Mr. Harris immediately recognized my addictive behavior and intentionally focused on my dishonesty and manipulative game playing. I read his book, Death Dance, and my life has not been the same since. By the time I was four months into the program, I began to realize that I needed to change. Mr. Harris showed me his unique brand of tough love to break through my facade. He let me know that he liked the real me better; he and Mrs. Harris showed me the love of Christ. After finishing DAP, I graduated from Loma Linda University School of Nursing with honors. My classmates voted me as President of the class and I worked at the Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital before moving to Louisville, KY in 2006. I am now married to a wonderful Christian woman, Phyllis, and I love my life! I’m even an Elder in my church; can you believe it!
As a Registered Nurse, I have met many people that have had similar experiences as me. Not just addicts, but other people that have felt hopeless and helpless. My own journey through challenges, disappointments, and utter frustration has given me a keen since of empathy and understanding for people; one that I did not have before. I can reach people in their despair and offer them the hope that Jesus has given me. Since graduating from DAP, I have survived cancer, a hurtful divorce, a right above-the-knee amputation and a heart transplant, giving me unique experiences and insight and enabling me to reach many people.
I volunteer as a teacher of a men’s group here at a local homeless shelter. Many of these men have suffered due to addiction and other vicissitudes of life that I am able to relate to and help them through. Jesus has given me a second chance and I let them know that chance is available for them as well. Just as Mr. Harris has held himself accountable as an example for others to receive God’s grace, I strive to do the same.
I like myself now. I did not before. I look back at my life as an addict and realize that I must have had a death dish! As I have mentioned, I have faced many challenges since DAP; life is not perfect, but I can handle my challenges without using drugs or people. I like being trusted by my family, friends and community. I have been recognized in my community for the work that I have done as a nurse in Louisville. The University of Louisville School of Nursing presented me the Florence Nightingale Award. I now can exist in meaningful relationships and I now have something to offer in those relationships. I am so glad that the Harris’s allowed God to use them to help me get it together. I am proud of myself for completing the program. It is truly one of the hardest things that I have faced in my life, and it was worth it! God has truly used DAP to turn my life around!
Gratitude has been called “the heart’s memory,” and this year, as you say, “thank you,” we’re inviting you to send a gift of gratitude for your own blessings. Here at DAP, your faithful support continues to help us reach out to other men, just like Anthony, who will then be praising God for the rest of their lives. Please be assured, your financial support is shown in the lives of DAP graduates every day, who themselves are now ministering to others.
Whether your gift is $25 or $500 — $50 or $1,000, every gift is a blessing and we say, “thank you” to you in advance.
With gratitude in our hearts,
