Abundant hope offered to those fighting addiction
Jessica Tate
Grainger Today Reporter
MORRISTOWN – “We are facing a drug pandemic. It doesn’t really have borders. Lives are being ruined. Children are being taken away from mothers. It is destroying not only families and individuals, but cities, and we have to do something to combat it.”
Those are the words of Corey Leatherman, pastor of Abundant Hope Ministries in Morristown. For six years, he has worked with the drug recovery program.
Abundant Hope Ministries may be known for its thrift shop on Buffalo Trail. Merchandise is sold at a value price, which helps low-income families find school clothing, household items and furniture. Proceeds from the thrift shop help women overcome the chains of addiction.
Women have traveled to the ministry seeking help from surrounding counties and as far away as Chattanooga. The ministry houses 18 women for 12 months for $215. If they can’t pay the fee, Leatherman said it may be waived. He said no one will be turned away for not having the fee.
“For a lot of things that other places have to offer, there’s a tremendous cost for individuals trying to get in,” Leatherman said. “By the time people need the help we offer, they don’t have life savings or a whole lot of help around them, and so we’re able to offer our resources.”
The ministry provides food, clothing and counseling to recovering addicts. Several types of classes are offered, including work therapy, job skills, resume writing, financial planning, parenting and GED courses. When students reach the appropriate phase of the program, they are offered help with job placement.
Abundant Hope Ministries became locally owned last year and is now separate from the original ministry, Center of Hope out of Alabama. In one year, the ministry has helped 10 graduates find recovery.
To Leatherman, having 10 graduates is massive. He said the change doesn’t end with the recovered addict. For the 10 lives restored, 10 families have been touched. Wanting to give back after finding recovery, a few graduates have joined as ministry staff. Leatherman said this is the most rewarding work he has ever done.
“We’ve seen a lot of people have their lives changed. We’ve seen countless people come into the program thinking it was just for a drug or alcohol problem, and then giving their life to Christ,” Leatherman said. “Now the whole family is part of the church. So it’s really helping not only individuals, but also families, and fighting back against this problem we’re facing.”
The ministry views addiction as the fruit of the problem. Leatherman said it’s important to find the cause. For someone battling addiction, he said community involvement is helpful.
“If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. Once they’ve been on drugs or alcohol for so long, learning how to do life without that is so important. It’s easy to get people off drugs. It’s hard to teach them how to do life without it,” Leatherman said. “It takes a lot of work, a lot of effort and a lot of dedication. So you have people that come and start, and then drop out. But I’ve never had anyone do this and regret it.”
Leatherman speaks from experience. He became an intravenous drug user at a young age. He recalls being hopeless, lost and broken. He got into trouble with the law, reached out for help and attended a year-long, faith-based program called True Purpose.
“That is where I saw people living normal lives, from people who were addicted to the same things I was addicted to. For the first time in my life, I saw people actually overcoming it,” Leatherman said. “And that’s where I began to get my relationship with Jesus Christ.”
Audrey Nunes
Audrey Nunes, program counselor, entered the ministry about five years ago. Her mother had prescribed pain medication, which she shared to help Nunes when she was in the sixth grade and suffered from a migraine. Nunes had been bullied in school and had a rough home life, and she liked the way the pain pills made her feel.
“I started taking pain medicine from my mom and getting as much as I could. That led to run-ins with the law and being in and out of jail. I went from pain pills to heroin, from heroin to crack, and from crack to meth,” she said. “I caught felony charges. I did outpatient treatment, inpatient programs, anger management. I did house arrest, everything they said you should do that would help you. And it just never stuck; it never worked.”
Nunes gave birth to her son in 2011 and lost custody shortly after his second birthday. When her son was taken from her, Nunes sank deeper into addiction.
“I just continued getting high and going crazy. I ended up in a mental institution for attempted suicide,” Nunes said. “They sent me to another 28-day program and I was kicked out after a few weeks. Then I said the same old thing, ‘I’m not gonna get high again.’”
Within 24 hours of removal from the program, Nunes realized she was homeless, had been involved with prostitution and was staying with a man for drugs. She vividly recalls hitting rock bottom in a hotel bathroom and sticking a needle in her body to get a fix.
She had the number to Abundant Hope Ministries, given by the program that kicked her out. After 24 hours of losing everything all over again, Nunes called Leatherman and asked for help.
Her father bought a bus ticket and paid the program intake fee. When he put her on the bus, he said he hoped the program would work. He didn’t want her to call him again. After years of watching his daughter’s downward spiral, he said he couldn’t do it anymore.
While in the program, Nunes said she found Jesus and recovery. She graduated and stayed in the area. She worked a job, got her own car, reunited with her father and made a home. She completed all requirements to get her son back.
“I got to take him to his first day of kindergarten. I get to do all the mom things, take him to his doctor appointments. My favorite thing to do is grocery shopping, which most people hate,” she said. “But it’s the little things you never thought you would be able to do.”
Sherry Bailey
Sherry Bailey, program director, dabbled with drugs and alcohol while attending Rutledge High School. She said she went out with friends and experienced drugs, then hid her activities from her family. It wasn’t until 2003 that addiction had her in its grip.
“I had a daughter and I was eight months pregnant with my son,” Bailey said. “Me and my mom were best friends. I was the only child and we were really close, together every day. When she passed away all of a sudden, had a heart attack in her sleep, it really hit me hard.”
When she was informed of her mother’s death, Bailey went into labor. Doctors stopped the early labor and advised her stress could hurt the baby. Medications, which doctors said would not hurt her baby, were given to keep Bailey calm.
Medication helped Bailey deal with the pain of losing her mother, but after her son was born, she continued with other drugs. In time, she lost her father and a 10-year battle with addiction.
Bailey’s husband stood by her. She said he held onto the hope she could change. He kept telling her, “I know the girl I first met is in there. You need to find her.”
Bailey got in trouble with the law, stayed briefly in jail and was sentenced to probation. Still addicted, she missed check-ins. She couldn’t pass a drug test and money for fines was spent on drugs. This led to repeated stays in jail.
“And then I started dealing with DCS. I dealt with them four years almost,” she said. “They sent me to a couple of 28-day rehab programs. I would just stay clean enough to satisfy them.”
The last time DCS visited her home, Bailey said they kicked her out. She was at risk of never seeing her children again.
Finally, Bailey said her husband lost hope. He took her to Abundant Hope Ministries and said divorce papers were coming. Bailey’s family members were so angry, they would not visit her.
“After a while, my husband brought the kids. They saw how much I changed. I had finally got to the bottom and said, ‘OK. Right now it’s not about me anymore. I’ve got to get back to my family,’” Bailey said. “This place helped me open my eyes to actually have a relationship with God and find peace.”
Those divorce papers never came. Touched by his wife’s transformation, Bailey’s husband is now the church choir director. Her daughter sings in the choir, and her son does anything he can to help the church.
A growing ministry
Along with the counselors, volunteers and private donors, several organizations help the ministry. First Baptist Church in Morristown, Hillcrest Church in Morristown, Heritage Fellowship Church in Jefferson City, Morrison Properties, the Pregnancy Crisis Center in Morristown and Midwest Food Bank have all pitched in to fill a need when it arises.
While no state or federal funding has been received, Leatherman is working out details in hopes the ministry will be backed by Tennessee’s faith-based initiative. The team also hopes to have a men’s program soon.
For now, the Abundant Hope Ministry has openings for women in need of help. To seek recovery or learn more about volunteering for the ministry, call (423) 254-1700 or visit the website at https://abundanthopeministry.org.