The Montel Williams Show
Nearly 12 million Americans have tried methamphetamine, a problem that is mounting into a national epidemic. Unlike other drugs, Meth is unique as it can be made easily right a home with commonplace items like cold medicine and batteries. There is a misconception that Meth addications are only a problem in inner city or rural areas, but the truth is that this drug can affect anybody. Today we'll meet a family torn apart by Meth. We'll talk to Lorrie, who along with her daughter, Daniela, suffer from an addiction to Meth. A year ago Lorrie tested positive for the HIV virus, after sharing needles when she used Meth. Now, Lorrie smokes Meth and says that she will die from her addiction, but wants to save her daughter, Daniela. Daniela says that she can remember her mom doing drugs since the age of 4. Exposure to an enviroment full of drugs caused her to start drinking at age 11 and using drugs by the age of 15. Daniela says she has lived a hard life that includes being homeless and surviving a rape. Like her mother, she wants to get clean for her 9-year-old daughter Brittney but doesn't know how. We'll talk with Lorrie's son, Shaun, about how he was able to escape the life of drugs. He is desperate to help his mother and sister. We'll also meet Daniela's fiancée, Dewayne, who has been addicted to drugs for over 10 years. He says living with Daniela and Lorrie is difficult because they all trigger each other's addiction and can't find a way to stop. With the help of Dr. Peter Favaro, the family will take the first step in breaking their cycle of drug addictions and healing from all their painful memories. The show will enroll them in treatment programs enabling them to have a fresh start to their lives.
Sixty-three percent of the nation's children under five years of age are in some type of child-care arrangement every week..... but just how closely are these daycare center regulated? The lack of legal qualifications needed to run a daycare center in the US are appalling and may be the cause of some recent alarming cases of neglect and abuse. Today we'll meet parents whose children have been victimized at daycare centers and who want to warn all other parents. We'll meet Chanin, whose two-year-old daughter escaped death at a daycare center after being thrown across a room into a playpen. We'll talk to Trish and Nicholas, who say their baby mysteriously died at a daycare center. Although the autopsy was inconclusive, there were strong indications that the baby had been smothered to death by daycare owner, Ann Marie Cardinal. We'll meet Kim, who will reveal more about Ann Marie Cardinal's checkered past. Kim says Cardinal abused her hcild and even stole her identity! We'll meet Terri, a reporter who went on an undercover assignment at a daycare center in Minnesota. She will show us her videotapes which reveal horrific conditions and child neglect. We'll also meet Anita Aguilar and California State Assemblyman John Benoit, who are trying to get a new law passed which would require all daycares to display a government issued card, listing all prior citations, convictions and a "letter grade" on how well they comply with state regulations.
On today's show, world-renowned psychic Sylvia Browne is here with answers only she can give! We'll meet Diane, whose son Bryan was killed just minutes from the family's home. A week after her son's funeral Bryan appeared in her dreams. We'll meet Lesley, who was in a horrific motorcycle accident. Her deceased grandfather appeared and told her not to walk toward the white light. Lesley wants to know if her grandfather saved her life. We'll meet Adrienne, who was told her twin died at birth. Since moving to Philadelphia, family members, close friends, and neighbors keep mistaking another woman for her. She wants to know the woman that looks exactly like her. We'll talk to Tish, who believes her former workplace is haunted with spirits. She was alone one night in her office and an intruder broke in. Before the intruder reached her she heard a loud noise and the intruder ran out. She wants to know if a spirit protected her. We'll meet Sherry, a woman whose best friend was brutally murdered. Her friend appears in her dreams and gives her details about her murder. Sherry wants to know the meaning of all of her dreams.
Each year, thousands of women are abused, attacked or even killed by their abusive and controlling husbands. We'll talk to women whose lives were forever changed by the men in their lives. These women took action to protect themselves and their children, but say the justice system failed them horribly, when protective orders were broken or lifted. We'll meet Yvette and her daughter Alexis. Yvette was set on fire by her estranged husband and suffered from third degree burns over 60% of her body. She has undergone 18 surgeries and has many more to go. We'll meet Darrin Rankin, Vice President of Enrollment Services and Student Affairs at Clark University in Atlanta. He is here to surprise Yvette and Alexis by offering Alexis a full college scholarship! We'll talk to Jessica, who had a restraining order against her husband. Her husband violated the restraining order by kidnapping his three daughters. Jessica called the police but the police took no action until Jessica's husband pulled up in front of the police station and began shooting. Officers returned fire, killing him and found the lifeless bodies of Jessica's three daughters in his car. Her husband had killed them earlier that day. We'll meet Jessica's attorney Lenora Lapidus, the Director of the Women's Rights Project for the ACLU. We'll also meet Mary Lou Leary, the Executive Director of the National Center for Victims of Crime. She urges all victims to take other steps to protect themselves and their children. Dr. Susan Allan, a divorce mediator and Michael Mazariello, a defense attorney will also be joining us.
Gender Dysphoria is one of the most misunderstood topics in America today. Today we will meet transgender individuals who will share their unique life stories and talk about their battle for equal rights. We'll talk to mother and daughter, Toni and Ashley. Ashley was biologically born a boy named Paul. Toni says that "Paul" has behaved and identified himself as a girl ever since he was a toddler. Toni says he always played with girls' toys, wanted to dress in girls' clothing, and always asked why he had male genitalia. Toni put Paul into counseling to address his gender identity and he was diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria. At age ten, Paul fell into a depression living as a boy. He asked Toni if he could stop wearing boys' clothing, grow his hair long, and go by the name, Ashley. Realizing that this was not just a phase, Toni agreed. We'll also meet Aejaie Sellers, the Executive Director of the Billy Defrank LGBT Community Center in San Jose, California. She is also a male to female transgender person. At the age of seventeen, with the support of her parents, she stared her transition to be a biological female. Within a year after starting her transistion, she had reconstructive surgery and moved on with her life. We'll talk to Mark, who wrote the book, The Mirror Makes No Sense, which chronicles his transition from female to male. Mark was born "Maritza" but says he always felt like a boy growing up. He never even knew about the world of transgenders, until he took a trip to Key West when he was thirty-eight. Realizing he was not alone, Mark decided to make the transition from female to male. Mark is married to a woman and has become an advocate for transgender rights. We'll meet Christopher Daley, a public interest attorney and Director of California's Transgender Law Center. Daley created California's first direct services practice for the transgender legal issues. We'll also meet Eric who was working in the kitchen at the prominent New York restaurant and catering hall, The Tarrytown Castle. He was known as the chef's right-hand man. His co-workers knew him as a fine chef and employee until the day someone brought in a high school yearbook depicting him as a woman named, Erica. Eric was a transgender person living and working as a man and was "outed" to a very negative response. Dr. Katherine Rachlin, a psychologist who specializes in gender identity will be joining us.
