LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WSAZ) -- She was a successful radio DJ, television news reporter and mother of three little girls. Now, Asia Ludlow is a recovering drug addict fighting for her life.

“I got to the point that not only was I losing my family and life, but I had no spirit left. I forgot who I was, who God was. I had no love for myself and I was ready to die. I was ready to take my life,” Ludlow said.

Her addiction was driven by abuse.

“I was molested at age 4, 9, 11, 14, 16. A lot of times, we look at we didn't have a father and I didn't have a father. So, I never really had that structure and always had a hard time trying to find my way in life and really trying to find out who I was and the best thing for me to do was to cover it all up. Once I got a hold of drugs, alcohol, cocaine, crack, whatever it took to get me outside of myself, that's what I was willing to do,” Ludlow said.

The drug abuse started at age 11 and continued until four months ago when this one-time professional took a leap of faith out of despair.

Ludlow said, “Because I did have television commercials, radio, I told my family I could never come to the healing place because I remember driving by here doing what you're doing and thinking about those women here being alcoholics and drug addicts.”

Now that has changed. “Today, I don't care who sees me, who knows that I'm just willing to get some help for myself. I want to be a mom again. I want to be a mother. I miss my kids,” Ludlow said.

She also said, “Being on camera with a shaved head, that's a big step for me. But, you're either going to love me for who I am or you're not going to love me at all. The thing is I'm clean and sober and learning a new way to live.”

“I don't know what it is about this place, but it's something, something very special that there's a love in this house that is unconditional, so I know it is of God. It's the women in the house too. We all suffer from the same disease. There’s no big I's or little U’s,” Ludlow said.

The Healing Place houses men and women for an average stay of 9 months to a year. Huntington hopes to have its program up and running in the next year.

But, folks in Huntington are working to change that with a large long-term residential recovery facility offering free treatment. It's called The Healing Place modeled after a success story in Louisville.

In our Cover Story, we traveled with a Huntington delegation to tour the Kentucky project that's saving lives daily.

“We check vitals. If there’s a problem, we have a direct link with the local ER and can take them there because we are a non-medical facility. We use no medication or step-down drugs. All we can do is give a hug, a few stories and maybe even a bath,” said Rodney Brannon, Vice President of Programs for The Healing Place.

This is the beginning of a new life and a new attitude for those hopelessly addicted to drugs. Their journey starts here in Louisville at the healing place. It's Kentucky's largest recovery center and a model program being duplicated across the country.

“I think the program is really special. When you walk in, the feeling you get is one of fellowship, caring and hope and I think a lot of misconception is a program like this is full of despair and there is no hope there--homeless people living there day to day and that's not the atmosphere at all,” said Genise Lalos.

Genise and a group of addiction counselors and social service professionals from Huntington are here. They're planning to start their own.

“I think it will benefit Huntington because a lot of individuals don't have finances to pay for treatment. Presently, the only other option is the homeless shelter where there's not a lot of treatment mandated and I don't think there's that same level of peer accountability,” said Genise.

After a three to seven days of detox, the program progresses to a motivational track.

A big part of the process includes community meetings three times a week. This is where the tearing down and building up of addicts happens. The program intensely guards the privacy of these meetings. We were allowed to sit in, but our cameras only got limited access.

Here, addicts are praised for achievements, but face heavy consequences for breaking the rules. Everyone contributes to the list of consequences and then votes for the ones they think are most appropriate. The outcomes of these meetings aren't always happy. On this day, a client refuses to accept her consequences jeopardizing her spot in the program.

“One of the clients has taken on the victim role. Hopefully, she gets through this frustration period and gets to detox and thinks about what's out there for her,” said Rodney.

In the end, she stays.

It's a routine Rodney knows. He's not only the vice president of programs here. He was also a client.

“My addiction and what lead me here was I felt as though I was dying and I was I found out later. The life you live and all the hopes and dreams you have dwindle down to nothing. At that point of nothing, I asked for help,” said Rodney.

Now, Rodney ensures other clients get the help he got.

“This is one of the best investments I ever made and I have been to treatment twice prior to ever coming here. Having come here, like most individual, with no jobs, no family, no home, no obligations, 6 months was an easy investment to give after 17 years of active drug/alcohol abuse” said Rodney.

The Healing Place has a 65% success rate. That means of those who graduate, 65% remain sober for at least one year. That's five times the rate for most treatment centers.
Our area has a couple of residential drug treatment centers, but they offer a total of 50 beds. The Healing Place in Huntington will add another 100 beds to that and the biggest difference--the services will be free to the public.

Cost is one thing that's often an obstacle to people getting the help they need. This will eliminate that. The Healing Place in Louisville houses 400 men, women and children a night serving 1400 meals. There's an average stay of nine months to one year. Huntington hopes to have its facility up and running in the next year.

For more information on The Healing Place in Louisville, you can call 502-585-4848.

Now, Huntington is looking to duplicate the residential treatment program. We toured the facility in Louisville and shows how love and accountability is changing lives by the hundreds.

“This is where it all begins,” said Janis Barnett, a recovering drug addict.

And it's the most pivotal 24 hours of a drug addict's life--detox--that line between despair and hope..

“We come here off the street-we rest up and decide if we want to stay and start a whole new life,” said Janis.

It all happens here, at "the Healing Place". Located in the heart of downtown Louisville, this is Kentucky's largest recovery program and has become a national model. It's where Janis made that pivotal decision six months ago at rock bottom.

“My addiction consumed my life. Everything I did revolved around getting drunk or getting high by any means necessary. I don't want to go into any detail, but by any means necessary,” said Janis.

Now, while she's still undergoing treatment, the recovering addict is helping others--including this delegation from Huntington, planning to copy this program back home.

“I think the program is really special. When you walk in, the feeling you get is one of fellowship, caring and hope,” said Genise Lalos.

The secret to success for this program is addicts helping addicts, sort of the philosophy it takes one to know one and that's how they help each other.

“It was people who came through the process--people just like me who went through some of the things I went through who could say, "Hey, I remember when I felt like that. This is what I done. Walk through me and I'll show you how to get there", Said Janis.

“We have over 2500 alumni, think about how many jobs are more productive, how many families are healthier, how many more taxes are being paid, how much less crime,” said Rodney Brannon, Vice President of Programs for the Healing Place.

Started in 1989, the healing place houses 400 men, women and children a night serving 1400 meals a day. The average stay is nine months to a year. Tune in tomorrow night to our 5-30 Edition. In our cover story, we go in-depth on how the healing place is saving lives in Kentucky and will do the same in Huntington.