Mary Fausett couldn't stop crying as she described her reaction to being invited to the Governor's Mansion for a tea held for women in treatment programs for problems related to substance abuse and domestic violence.
"I feel it," Fausett said after hearing an emotional talk by Olympic bobsled silver medalist Billy Schuffenhauer about growing up with a drug-addicted mother.
"It just makes you think about what you've done to your own kids."
Fausett, who said she'll graduate from a drug treatment program next week, said Monday's two-hour event — organized by first lady Mary Kaye Huntsman — made her more determined "to be there" for her own children, ages 4 and 6.
Huntsman said she came up with the idea of inviting the 50 or so women to the mansion after meeting some of them at a Volunteers of America dinner last month.
"I was just so taken that they were there and wanted to be better," the first lady said.
So Monday, the women took a break from their treatment programs and enjoyed tea, lemonade, scones, fruit and dainty sandwiches at tables set with silver and china in the mansion ballroom.
"As a first lady and as a human being, I want you to know how proud I am of all of you," Huntsman told the women. "I want to let you know how wonderful you are and how much each of you have to give back."
Pamela Atkinson, a longtime advocate for the disadvantaged, said many Utahns would love to be asked to attend tea at the mansion.
The women, Atkinson said, were there because they "have a powerful story to tell of what you have been through."
That's the theme of Huntsman's own initiative, a program called "Power in You" that links students with people who have been through substance abuse, medical challenges and other problems.
The first lady repeated the message that the women at the tea also have the power within themselves to change not only their lives, but also the lives of their children and others.
"You're all beautiful women. I don't see anything wrong with you," she said. "Know that inside."
Schuffenhauer described growing up on the streets of Salt Lake City and surrounding communities while his mother earned money for her drug habit as a prostitute. He talked of his struggles to create a different life for himself as a successful athlete.
"It's never too late to give up," he said after displaying his silver medal from the 2002 Winter Games. "I know even better than you ladies that no one can make you change but yourself."
Cheryl Candelaria, who is in a program for victims of domestic violence, said that message was powerful.
"Oh my gosh, it was so, so great. I've been through the history he was talking about," she said. "This is going to be eye-opening for everybody."
Sherri Fowlks, who is in a drug treatment program, said she initially didn't think much of the offer to have tea with the governor's wife.
"I wasn't going to come," Fowlks said. "I just thought, 'Tea? Whatever.' "
But other women in her program talked her into coming and she said she was glad. Fowlks called the speech by Schuffenhauer a "tearjerker" that helped her see what to do at those times she feels "down on the bottom, when you don't want to go anymore."
Lisa Heaton, director of family services for House of Hope, said the First Lady's invitation was important to the women in treatment programs. She said it made them see "they're worth it, that someone would overlook all the things they've done wrong."
E-MAIL: lisa@desnews.com