He and his wife, Kathy, sold a beach home they owned and plowed the money into an Anaheim crack house that today has a swimming pool, a rose garden and 12 flagstone steps leading to the front door, symbolizing the facility's adherence to Alcoholics Anonymous' 12-step recovery program. Oasis has treated more than 2,000 people from all walks of life.

abuse their children. But Antonowitsch, like most substance abuse experts, argues that treatment is substantially more effective and cost-efficient than incarceration.

"They talk about two things in prison," he said. "Getting laid and getting loaded."

Convinced he could rescue Theodora, and ultimately Tamika, Antonowitsch persuaded the judge to ask the mother whether she would be willing to undergo rehabilitation at Oasis—for free. Theodora gratefully accepted the stranger's offer. "I was stunned," she said.

The day before Thanksgiving, she walked out of Los Angeles County's Twin Towers jail and into the recovery center's foyer, decorated with a

Christmas tree topped with a white angel. Antonowitsch greeted her with a tight embrace. Theodora cried. She then was ushered to her new quarters,