Like her mentor, Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Barbara Butler has been a spiritual mother to many. As CEO of the nonprofit Canon Human Services Centers, Inc. Brown Scapular Program located in Watts, Butler oversees an inpatient and outpatient drug rehabilitation facility drawing hundreds of clients each year from as far away as Lancaster.

"I've had a lot of miracles in my life," said Butler, 75. A native of Belzoni, Mississippi, she lost her mother as a child and lived with a series of relatives in her formative years. She converted to Catholicism at age 16 after being introduced to the faith by a Catholic half-sister who took her in.

Gifted with intelligence and a vivacious personality, Butler landed a scholarship to Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Ark. She received a lifetime teaching certificate after earning a high score on the National Teacher's Exam and worked as an elementary and high school teacher in Mississippi before accepting a job as an efficiency expert with the Burroughs Corporation in Omaha, in the late 1960s.

After a series of corporate positions, including a stint with McCullough Corporation in Los Angeles where she was the first African American to hold a management position, Butler decided to put her talents to work in the community. From 1973 to 1978, she was assistant program director for Castle Substance Abuse Programs. She managed to complete a trimester graduate program in just two semesters, earning a master's degree in human services from Pepperdine University in 1979.

That year, she was selected to head the Jamaa Program of the Charles R. Drew Postgraduate Medical School and Martin Luther King, Jr. Hospital Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior providing outpatient and day programs for substance abusers. Under her leadership, the program expanded to include a residential treatment component as well as a community reentry program which, under contract to the California Department of Corrections, supervised and assisted inmates in making the transition from prison to parole.

A leap of faith
When Butler was told in 1988 the Jamaa Program was in danger of closing because it was no longer "cost effective," she sprang into action. She organized a group of volunteers who incorporated as Canon Human Services Centers, creating a nonprofit organization which took over the county-funded hospital substance abuse program.

Relocating the program to a former convalescent hospital which she decorated inside and out with religious icons, Butler and her loyal staff of nine counselors over the past 15 years have helped nearly 3,000 addicted individuals --- men and women of different racial and religious backgrounds --- get back on their feet.

Clients are referred to the center from probation departments, parole officers and former residents. Several Canon clients convicted of nonviolent drug possession are receiving services under Proposition 36 provisions, which allow substance abuse treatment for offenders instead of incarceration.

Currently, the center has 37 male clients in the residential program and 80 male and female outpatients. Canon's staff of teachers, counselors, parent educators and administrators educates clients on ways to avoid addictive behavior and become successful members of society. Awakening clients to an appreciation of spirituality is a big component of the program.

"We teach clients the importance of education and doing meditation," said Butler as she spoke in the facility's carpeted meditation room. Every day, clients and staff gather at 3 p.m. to pray for their needs and recite the Divine Mercy Prayer.

"I don't think anybody can make it in this world unless they put God first," said Butler, who often recites the rosary with staff members and attends daily 7:15 a.m. Mass with her husband, Charles Ray Butler Jr., at St. Bernadette Church in Los Angeles.

Funding cutback
Two years ago, county officials cut Butler's program by $300,000. She borrowed $100,000 to keep things running and staff paid. While other community-based treatment programs have gone under, Butler struggles to keep hers open, regardless of Proposition 36 reimbursement restrictions limiting residential treatment to 180 days. She refuses to kick clients out if they are not ready to handle societal pressures.

"Their thinking is upside down when they get here," said Butler, asserting that some clients are just not ready at the end of six months to be released into a world of temptations. "Once they walk out our door," she said, "if they go near drugs again, they're going to use."

According to Hilton Hayes, 42, a longtime counselor at Canon, clients receive individualized treatment which may require longer recovery time. "With Mrs. Butler, it's never about the bottom line. This program is here to provide a difference in living. It's not about just putting people back in danger."

Both Hayes and Butler feel substance abuse treatment is better off in a community facility as opposed to downtown's Skid Row shelters where drug pushers are always on the lookout for customers.

"We're trying to provide a continuum of services," said Hayes. Residential clients attend classes taught by a fulltime teacher who helps them prepare for job or school reentry. Counselors help clients establish goals one step at a time. Several former Canon clients have gone on to finish their college education at schools such as UCLA, USC and Cal State Universities.

Besides keeping Canon open, Butler would also like to build a homeless shelter next door, named in honor of Mother Teresa. Staff members are well-acquainted with Mrs. Butler's habit of stopping and helping homeless individuals, sometimes bringing them back to Watts for care.

"Whenever I see somebody homeless, I seek help. I like Mother Teresa because her goal was to help people on the streets," said Butler.

"Mrs. Butler," said Hayes, "is touched by the spirit of God."