In the shadow of the White House

the long version

Mike Tidwell's story of counseling homeless drug addicts begins with the startling contrast of the pomp and circumstance of the President's inaugural ceremonies to the desperate poverty in the neighborhoods surrounding the White House. He alludes to the year ahead that would bring a form of martial law to the drug- and crime-weary city. Tidwell continues to describe the effect overzealous domestic drug policies had on the street level and recounts the cruelty of poverty, The desperation in the streets, and the often heroic struggle against the painful and tragic addiction to crack cocaine. Yet from the smoldering ashes of the self-destructive local and national drug policies, Tidwell tells of a new recovery phenomenon that is emerging from within the crack community - a movement among addicts struggling to free themselves from the bondage of drugs.