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Published Monday, June 06, 2011 in Local

Photo by Jeffrey Leo

Brea Duke was working the downtown Newnan area recently, trying to find sponsors for the Coweta Drug Court’s upcoming “Walk/Run For a Drug Free Community.”

'Soccer moms can be addicts'

By Jeff Bishop

The Newnan Times-Herald

When you think "drug addict," chances are someone like Brea Duke isn't what comes to mind.

The young, energetic, blond mother of two young children gives every impression that she's on top of things.

Maybe now she is. But that certainly wasn't the case last July, when the Senoia resident was arrested for shoplifting.

"I think for some people, for people like me, you have to hit rock bottom before you realize you need help," she said. "Soccer moms can be addicts, too."

For Duke, that bottom came when she spent last Christmas in jail after she lost custody of her children. She knew she needed to turn her life around. She thanks the Coweta County Drug Court for help making that hope a reality.

"I'd been in and out of treatment for over a decade," she said. "I needed a program that held me accountable."

Duke said her downward spiral began when she was only 12, growing up near Dallas, Texas.

"I had a great life," she said. "My mom was a corporate America woman. But then my father had an accident when I was 12."

While she doesn't blame her father for the path she took, she said she didn't deal well with the new stresses in her life.

"I didn't want to feel anything," she said. "Basically, I tried some things. I liked them. I became an addict."

She would seek treatment at times, and stay clean for a year or so before succumbing to her addictions again.

Her latest relapse came when she had knee surgery. Duke said she became addicted to the pain killers.

"Nobody really knew. I was the team mom for my son's baseball team. I was a housewife. I had this Betty Crocker type of life. But I also had this big, dark secret. And that's going to show its ugly face, sooner or later. It was just a matter of time."

Things looked bleak for a while, but Duke said that the Coweta County Drug Court and its partner groups like Grace Harbor helped put her back on the right path. The program is voluntary, she said, and can last anywhere from 18 to 24 months, depending on the progress participants make. Drug tests are given routinely every 48 hours, and participants give up a certain amount of privacy.

"The sheriff can come search your home whenever he wants to," she said. "It really holds you accountable."

Now Duke is in Phase III of the five-phase program, learning life skills and independence. For some, that might mean getting a GED. For Duke, it meant going back to school to become a certified nursing assistant.

"That was something I had been wanting to do for years. Thanks to this program, I feel like I finally got the self-confidence to break free of everything that was holding me back. It's just this overwhelming feeling. It's something that no drug can ever give you."

Duke has her children back now, too, and she and her husband are in counseling together.

"I'm so happy that he and my family have stuck by my side through all of this," she said.

"Brea has come so far," said Pamela Shepherd, coordinator of the drug program for the court. "She has been in and out of treatment for years, but she has now turned that page in her life."

Part of exiting the program involves taking on a volunteer event. Duke decided to hold a 5K run/walk to heighten awareness of addiction.

"It's in everyone's family, someone you know is dealing with addiction, but we don't talk about it much," she said. "It's an uncomfortable topic, so we sweep it under the rug."

That rug needs to be aired out a bit, she said. She's hoping the 5K run in downtown Newnan -- "Walk/Run For a Drug Free Community" -- will help accomplish that.

"This is going to be the first event like this. I figured that they do something like this for breast cancer. Why not for this?"

Registration is $20 at www.active.com, or $25 on the day of the event, which begins at 8 a.m. on Saturday, June 11. Volunteers or prospective sponsors for the event may contact Pam Shepherd at 770-683-0205 or email cowetadrugcourt@yahoo.com.

"This event will be part of my graduation," said Duke. "Since this is our first time, I feel like we'll be really lucky if we can get 50 or 100 people. But I'm really trying to get the Coweta County Drug Court's name out there, to help clean up the community and maybe give back to the community a little bit. I really believe in this program. It's saving people's lives."