Troubled young man rejects drugs, finds his inner humanitarian

Buying her son Byron Habich a one-way plane ticket out of Las Vegas turned out to be an act of love for Nanci Quinnear, and the start of a gradual transformation of the young man from a self-centered, drug-using Summerlin teen to a God-loving Hurricane Katrina relief volunteer.

It was by no means instantaneous, but Nanci, Byron and his pastor, Keith Boyer, all are convinced it's a true transformation.

"Byron now understands that God is real and God loves him," said Boyer, pastor of Faith Bible Church, a non-denominational, evangelical church that averages about 100 people every Sunday in Slidell, La. "He's seen the impact of God's people loving other people. He realized that life isn't 'all about me,' it's about helping other people."

This wasn't an easy transformation. Byron, 20, started using drugs five years ago. Cocaine. Heroin. Meth.

A Las Vegas real estate broker, Nanci tried everything. Drug programs. Doctors. Psychologists. Her own version of house arrest.

But he kept using. "I didn't want to change; I liked getting high and always thinking about yourself," Byron said.

So last January, she sent the then-19-year-old to New Orleans to participate in Faith Bible's efforts to help rebuild homes destroyed in August 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. She had heard about the church from her parents, who are missionaries and had volunteered there.

It was an act of desperation. And it worked.

Byron volunteered four months in Louisiana, came home in April, and in October went back for three more months. He's now home for the holidays but will return soon to New Orleans. Down the road, he's considering joining the Air Force after he earns his general education diploma.

It was during his second stint as a volunteer that he found his faith. "I had a problem being lonely so I just started praying," he said. "It helped a lot." Now he has a network of friends of all ages from the small church.

Las Vegas is only a place to visit now. He won't live here again because he doesn't want to fall back with old friends and return to the world of easy-to-find drugs. But he doesn't blame Las Vegas. Byron, who dropped out of Palo Verde High School in the 11th grade, doesn't think his drug use would have been any different in any other major American city.

New Orleans is a tough city. Drugs are easily available there too. But Byron has changed. "The people I know in New Orleans are all positive influences on me. I know if I were to get high in New Orleans, I'd lose all the people who care about me," he said Wednesday, after working a day at his stepfather's molding company.

Byron is 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighs 200 pounds. For our interview, he wore an "I love New Orleans" T-shirt and Mardi Gras beads that included red crawfish decorating one necklace. His gap-toothed smile and curly black hair make him look half-kid, half-man.

But Nanci, 42, remembers when he was 170 pounds. "He turned gray. He looked like a dead body."

Byron admitted that during his first three months doing reconstruction work he "couldn't wait to get home to party again." But the second time was different. He was more receptive to the church's teachings.

Byron has seen firsthand the sufferings of others in New Orleans and no longer accepts that life is all about his needs, his wants, his desires.

The biggest misconception today about New Orleans, he said, "is that there's nothing left to do."

He knows just how wrong that is as he rebuilds homes. "A lot of people are living in conditions that are worse than sleeping under a bridge," he said.

Pastor Boyer said 3,200 people from 220 organizations representing 39 states have volunteered through the coordinated efforts of his church. The recovery wouldn't be nearly as far along without the efforts of all the churches and volunteers, Boyer said. He said anyone interested in volunteering should call Faith Bible Church at (985) 643-2929.)

Nanci believes her decision to send her son away, to see the devastation in New Orleans, saved him from the dark life he was living here.

She loved her son enough to let go, encouraging him to leave Las Vegas to find his own way in New Orleans.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275.