FLOWERS GIVE POWER TO PAIR AS ONE STEP TO RECOVERY.Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer VALENCIA - Two young women are crusading to make Valentine's Day Valentine's Day: see Saint Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day Lovers' holiday celebrated on February 14, the feast day of St. Valentine, one of two 3rd-century Roman martyrs of the same name. St. a little happier while they work on their recovery - one petal at a time. Jacqueline Traurig, 20, and Jennifer Pope, 16, are members of the Free Free Indeed group, a Christian 12-step program that helps young people overcome chemical dependency chemical dependency n. A physical and psychological habituation to a mood- or mind-altering drug, such as alcohol or cocaine. chemical dependency and other destructive behaviors. ``I had a drug addiction drug addiction or chemical dependency Physical and/or psychological dependency on a psychoactive (mind-altering) substance (e.g., alcohol, narcotics, nicotine), defined as continued use despite knowing that the substance causes harm. that was going on for a couple of years,'' Traurig said. ``I went to rehab for four months in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and when I got back, part of my plan was to go to a recovery group and start learning how to give back to the community and adapt to society without an addiction.'' Traurig said that several girls in the group have addictions to bad relationships and needed a recovery project that would allow them to give back. The girls got in touch with Amber Skowronski at the Sunrise at Sterling Canyon assisted living as·sist·ed living n. A living arrangement in which people with special needs, especially older people with disabilities, reside in a facility that provides help with everyday tasks such as bathing, dressing, and taking medication. facility, who invited them to bring flowers to the residents during a Valentine afternoon luncheon. The girls need at least 50 single flowers to give to the residents for the Valentine celebration. ``We hope to get roses, but we're not picky pick·y adj. pick·i·er, pick·i·est Informal Excessively meticulous; fussy. picky Adjective [pickier, pickiest] Brit, Austral & NZ . Whatever we can get, we'll be happy with,'' Traurig said. ``This project is really a blessing in return to me and my friend.'' The young women asked local florists for donations, but because the holiday is one of the industry's busiest days they were turned away. Now they are collecting donations so they can make an early morning trip to the L.A. Flower Mart downtown and purchase the seniors' blooms. ``Some of the kids in our group are chipping in and different people are giving us money. The people at Starbucks are giving their tips; everybody is helping a little bit.'' Traurig credits one of her supervisors at work for the idea. ``I was talking about being single and totally depressed on Valentine's Day. He suggested I do something proactive instead of feeling sorry for myself.'' ``So many people have helped us and this sounded like a good project,'' she said. ``People seem loneliest around Valentine's Day and we wanted to cheer them up.'' Free Free Indeed draws 15 to 20 members with an average age of 18. Young adults meet in their peer groups while adult/parent groups are conducted in an adjoining room. Both groups are given an opportunity to work together toward solving family problems. ``Basically, we just want to help our community,'' Traurig explained. ``We want it to be a safe haven 1. Designated area(s) to which noncombatants of the United States Government's responsibility and commercial vehicles and materiel may be evacuated during a domestic or other valid emergency. 2. for teens or young adults with any kind of self-destructive behavior; a safe harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. so they can come and learn about themselves and their parents can work with them on them as well. It's real; there's a lot of honesty here. I've made a bunch of new friends and they've helped me immensely.'' Traurig is ready to take on more projects once Valentine's Day has passed. ``I'm definitely planning on doing more in the community,'' she said. ``This is just an appetizer to what I want to do.'' Her future plans include traveling to other states and countries on missions to help in hospitals or serve the homeless to give back some of the emotional and physical support she received. Traurig said that the ease of obtaining drugs in the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. was a factor in her addiction. ``People don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. how easy it is to get drugs in this valley,'' she said. ``I started when I was a sophomore, smoking cigarettes and drinking. Then I got involved with speed, Ecstacy and coke, then that fizzled out. I started smoking marijuana quite frequently and became psychologically addicted.'' ``It took over,'' she continued. ``I wasn't doing anything to help my family at home and it got to the point where I had to make a choice - get kicked out or go into rehab.'' She chose rehab and took up residence at the Walter Hoving Walter Hoving (December 2, 1897 – November 27, 1989) was a Swedish-born American businessman, best known as the sometimes imperious, always self-confident, head of Tiffany & Company from 1955 to 1980. Mr. Home in Garrison in the condition of a garrison; doing duty in a fort or as one of a garrison. See also: Garrison , N.Y., where she stayed for four months. Her parents, grandparents grandparents npl → abuelos mpl grandparents grand npl → grands-parents mpl grandparents grand npl and friends wrote and sent books and gifts to remind her of the support she had at home. When she returned, her parents helped her get organized, find a counselor and structured her schedule to stay on track. She lives with her grandparents in Valencia and got her job back at Starbucks. ``Staying with my grandparents is part of my recovery to work out some of the family issues,'' she said. ``I'm getting the time to live almost on my own so I can deal with the deeper issues before moving back.'' Traurig is hoping that the flower project will grow some long-term relationships. ``I don't want this to be just a one-day event one-day event a contraction of the three-day event but like that contest is aimed at selecting the best all-round horse and rider. The events usually contested are show-jumping, dressage and cross-country. . I plan on continuing to visit and be a friend to someone who needs one.'' Jennifer Pope has been involved with Free Free Indeed for just over a year, referred to the group by a relative who got sober with their help. ``Methamphetamines were my favorite My Favorite is an independent synthpop band from Long Island, New York. They released two CDs: Love at Absolute Zero and Happiest Days of Our Lives. My Favorite broke up on September 14, 2005, when singer Andrea Vaughn left the band. ,'' she recalled. ``I used cocaine, lots of alcohol and marijuana. I started when I had just turned 14 with a boyfriend of mine. Everything is so easy to find in this valley, it's quite amazing how many drugs we have lying around.'' Pope was picked up by the police in Malibu as a runaway. One of her friends, fearing the worst, told Jennifer's parents about the drugs she was using. When her parents came down to pick her up, they gave her three choices: go to jail, continue her destructive behavior and die or get sober. She chose to sober up Verb 1. sober up - become sober after excessive alcohol consumption; "Keep him in bed until he sobers up" sober become, get, go - enter or assume a certain state or condition; "He became annoyed when he heard the bad news"; "It must be getting more serious"; , and doesn't regret it for a minute. She lives at home in Saugus and takes life one day at a time One Day at a Time is a long-running American situation comedy that portrayed a divorced mother, played by Bonnie Franklin, her two teenage daughters (Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli) and their building superintendent (Pat Harrington, Jr.). . ``They have been so wonderful; my entire family has been a blessing through this renovation of my life,'' Pope said. ``My mom attends meetings with me, both my mom and dad go to counseling with me. This has been a life-changing experience. If I hadn't used drugs and gone through that experience, I wouldn't be the person I am today.'' ``This (project) is a good way to share and give back to the community that supports us,'' she explained. ``A lot of seniors don't have anyone and we want to do something for someone other than ourselves.'' Some of Pope's co-workers at Applebee's are pitching in to help with the floral tributes. Asked if she would welcome a donor inspired by the publicity, she said that would be great. ``What would be even better is if someone needing a support group would look up Free Free Indeed and see what we're all about, that there are people who can listen and help them through their problems.'' To make a contribution or get information about the Free Free Indeed program, call (661) 251-8993. Carol Rock, (661) 257-5252 carol.rock(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Jennifer Pope, left, and Jacqueline Traurig are soliciting donations to deliver flowers to seniors on Valentine's Day. Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer |
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