COLT – Changing Our Lives Together
By Diane Biotti with Sara Lesher
Over the past 7 years in Spokane, Changing Our Lives Together (COLT) has been on a crusade for youth substance abuse and gang violence prevention. 2004 brings a new Program Director with a passion for the grass root principles that formed the organization back in 1997. The true story we present today is not unique to COLT. Our youth need to know that as a community we are here to lead them down the positive path of life. COLT helps 50 youth a year that are willing to sign a contract that states they will not engage in negative activities. It is our objective to grow to helping 200 youth a year. Following is a story written by a COLT participant, Diane Biotti:
I was 11 years old when I came to COLT. Honestly, I was enrolled in the program as a punishment for constantly misbehaving. At that time my family lived in a home with approximately 40 other individuals. It wasn’t easy growing up, but COLT made it a whole lot better. I moved from house to house, and new school after new school. I was the kid that no one ever wanted to talk to, so making new friends was hard. I guess you could say my life was unstable. At such a young age I was already drinking and smoking. But to me that didn't matter because I thought it made me cool and it made me think that someone cared. But in the end they didn't.
Coming in to this new COLT program didn’t seem to scare me or make me feel uneasy. I just expected the same outcome as I got when I went to a new school. I pretty much expected to be alone. Thankfully, I had misled myself. As the weeks in the program passed, I began to look for ways to get in trouble so that I could receive my “punishment” of going to COLT!
At COLT everyone was taught that no one is better than anyone else, and that we are all the same. You are not to judge someone by the clothes they wear or the way they look. What really matters is what is on the inside, not on the outside. As my first year went by I made lots of friends and people that I could trust. Most of all I had Marla, the Program Director at that time. Phase I ended and Phase II started. We spent most of our time at Phase I learning about horses and ourselves. In Phase II we got to be with the horses, which everyone loved so much. Phase II went throughout most of the summer. As the summer ended and school began, I didn't have to worry about making new friends because the same ones I had at COLT went to my new junior high school.
My grades started to get better and my outlook on life was a lot stronger, but I was still smoking. If I was going to live by COLT PRIDE, I had to stop. When Marla found out, she said that I had to quit and if I didn't she would have to let me go. Hearing it come from someone that I knew cared, made me take it seriously. When it came time for my 3rd year in COLT, things in my life changed for the better. My family didn't have to move at all. Actually, the house that I'm in right now I have lived in for the past 4 years. The other thing that surprised my family was that I actually made it to high school. As the years went by my love for life and others grew.
I'm now in my senior year of high school and my 7th year in COLT. This year is special because I am returning not as a student or Junior Counselor, but as a Senior Counselor. As colt begins in 2004, I look forward to a very great year with all of the new kids we have entering the program, and the old ones returning. COLT has not only taught me that life is to be cherished but it has also taught me respect, responsibility, caring and trustworthiness. Most of all it has taught me how to LOVE, which every kid should have and know.
In making the same mistakes over and over I have also learned to do one thing right. Live life to its fullest and live every day as if it was your last. You don't have time to make enemies. I wish to sincerely thank those that have supported COLT in the past and urge others to follow in their footsteps. I feel as if COLT has saved my life, and for that, I am eternally grateful.
We need you to help us reach more children, and help them find a solid base upon which to build their lives. On behalf of all the children enrolled in COLT both past, present and future, thank you for your donations, they will always be needed and graciously appreciated. Please send your tax-deductible contribution to COLT, PO Box 249, Greenacres, WA 99016-0249. To learn more about the program, or our volunteer opportunities, please visit our website at www.icehouse.net/coltspokane or contact Sara Lesher, Program Director, at coltspokane@icehouse.net or 509-926-BARN(2276).
