When Al Karim C. was a teen, he lived a lifestyle similar to Dracula's. "As soon as the sun went down, I'd do as much cocaine, crack or PCP as I could," he explains, "Then during the day I'd rest."
But eventually, he says, night and day ran together. "I didn't know what time it was or who I was. All I cared about was my next fix." That's when he enrolled in UMDNJ's adolescent recovery program in Piscataway. It was 1989 and Al Karim was 17. The following year was one he'll always remember: Al Karim graduated from the program and got his high school diploma.
He didn't stop there, however. In 1993, he earned an associate degree from Middlesex County College and in 1996 graduated from Montclair State with a bachelor's degree in sociology.
Now 27, Al Karim works full time in the Youth Services System's after school program at Lord Sterling School in New Brunswick. He helps the students;kindergarten through eighth grade -; with their homework, does counseling and coaches the coed basketball team. He has an 11-year-old son and is engaged to be married.
He readily admits, however, that it hasn't always been easy: "I continue to do the things I need to do everyday to stay clean. But if it weren't for the recovery program, I wouldn't be where I am today."
Gwen, another alumnus of the program, began doing drugs when she was 11. Her alcoholic father abused both Gwen and her mother. Drugs, she says, made her feel accepted: "I had nothing in my life. I felt worthless."
A friend told her about the program and she enrolled when she was 13. A year and a half later she graduated, but continued individual counseling.
Now 24, Gwen says she's "slipped a couple of times." But she's been clean for the last two years. "It sounds so simple," she says. "People tell you, 'Just don't drink, and go to support meetings.' Believe me, it's not that easy, especially when there's social drinking going on around you. I live one day at a time; sometimes one hour at a time."
In spite of her past struggles, Gwen has managed to move forward. She will graduate from the medical assistant program offered by the Occupational Center of Hudson County in June and is expecting a baby in August. She will be getting married soon.
"I know what it's like to be happy now, so doing drugs again would be crazy," she says. "It's like someone thinking, 'I'm going to eat a whole chocolate cake.' You might think about it, but it's not realistic. Now especially with the baby coming, for me, alcohol and drugs are just not an option."