It's called Baby Luv.

And it's a program of the Brazos Valley Council on Alcohol and Substance Abuse to intervene in the lives of pregnant women..and those who have already had babies..to prevent the negative effects of alcohol and drugs on infants.

Necia Roseburgh signed up for it when she found out she could get free diapers, but it turned out much more than that. "It was great, like a refresher course for me. My kids are older, 7 and 8, when I was pregnant with the baby. She's now 9 months old. So it's like, great, you know, refresh my memory. It's been awhile since I had a baby, and also learn new things."

Baby Luv is just one of more than 20 community service, prevention, intervention, and treatment service programs offered by the Brazos Valley Council on Alcohol and Substance Abuse.

It was started back in 1983 when Mary Mattingly was approached by the Texas Commission on Alcoholism to start a council on alcohol in Bryan-College Station.

She had noticed that many local kids were acting out what they were experiencing at home. "And the kids were very needy, had a lot of problems. Some of them were experimenting with alcohol and drugs themselves, and there were no 12-step support groups at that point in time for children or teenagers."

But this new idea was different..this was an agency that would go into schools and talk to teachers and students about alcoholism and drug addiction and what that does to you, and why it's dangerous.

She wasn't exactly welcomed by schools with open arms.
They said: "We don't have that problem in our schools. We have school counselors and they are quite capable of talking to kids who want to come in and talk. And I came saying, no, this is education. I'm not here to counsel children or teenagers who have alcohol and drug problems. I'm here to provide education on the dangers of their use of alcohol and or drugs and what that does to the mind and body."

Guess what? This determined woman says she weaseled her way into Bryan-College Station schools.

Her coworkers talk about that determination. "When she gets a thought and goes with it, you can guarantee it's going to happen and because of her dream, many people in the community that suffer from the disease of addiction have been helped."

And once inside the schools, students began opening up to Mary, and she discovered something alarming. There WAS a big drug problem.

1990..KBTX was in the thick of reporting the problem.

"Those charged with dealing drugs will be expelled from Bryan High, others identified as users for mandatory counseling sessions with their parents and school officials."

Through the years, Mary and her staff have helped solve the problems, and are responsible for 50-million dollars plus in funding for projects across the Brazos Valley.
But listen how Mary reacted when I asked her about her peers nominating her for a Jefferson Award. "I was astounded, I really...sorry.... You don't do this expecting any kind of reward because there isn't any. You know when you work with families who are broken and devastated and you see their children and they're barely hanging in school, you know it breaks your heart and even after 27 years, it still breaks my heart. And that's why I'm still here."