Actress puts her faith in learning

Sacramento Bee/September 22, 2001
By Jennifer Garza

"I have an aversion to the typical, sterile schoolroom setting," Kirstie Alley says on the phone from Los Angeles. "I wanted something that doesn't look like a school."

With that in mind, Alley, a TV and movie actress, personally designed the look of Lillie's Learning Place, a tutoring center in Sacramento sponsored by the Church of Scientology. The center, open to the public, is free.

"We have snacks, and it's bright and clean," says Alley. "Cozy, that's the best word to describe it. It's an excellent learning environment." Alley founded Lillie's Learning Place six years ago after watching the success of a similar program in east Los Angeles.

"I couldn't believe it. I was astonished at the changes," she says. Lillie's Learning Place is a phonics-based reading program that Alley says will help students learn how to study better. The program is based on the work of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.

The first Lillie's Place, named after Alley's daughter, opened in the actress's hometown of Wichita, Kan. She will soon be opening four more, including one today in Sacramento. Alley and her daughter will be on hand for ceremonies at 5 p.m. at the Church of Scientology Mission of River Park on Hurley Way.

Her goal, Alley says, is to have them "all over the country." Alley is best-known for her roles in the TV sitcoms "Cheers" and "Veronica's Closet." But religion has also played a big role in her life. Alley has been a Scientologist for 20 years.

"Before, I was a drug addict, walking aimlessly through life," she says. "I was a nice person, but I wasn't doing much to contribute to society." Alley credits Scientology with changing her life. In the past, Scientology has been criticized for what some believe is a cultlike philosophy. Alley dismisses that view.

"That is just ignorance," she says. "If anybody ever asks me about it, I say, 'Look at the statistics, and then you tell me your viewpoint.' Look at all the good work that Scientologists do. This is a religion based on ethics and nonviolence."

She says that in light of last week's terrorist attacks in this country, she is convinced that there is a need for more places like Lillie's Learning Place.

"I have no doubt that this terrorism is based on ignorance," Alley says. Last week, the National Mental Health Association issued a press release warning the public "to beware of representatives of the Church of Scientology ... claiming to be mental health professionals. ... The public needs to understand that the Scientologists are using this tragedy to recruit new members."

Alley calls the warning unfair. "They are counselors. I personally know about 100 of them, and they are working hard to help people," she says. "Wouldn't you know that in the heat of all this, some people would use this as an opportunity to attack others? That's just more ignorance." The Church of Scientology itself also responded to the allegations made by the mental health association.

"The church has deployed 759 volunteer ministers in New York City," the church said in a statement. "We reject and, indeed, are outraged by the NMHA's attempt to use false statments to create controversy in the midst of this tragedy."

Alley recently taped a public service announcement for the Red Cross. And she spends a lot of her time on Lillie's Learning Place. It's a subject she cares deeply about.

Alley, who says she wasn't a very good student herself, believes that this is an opportunity for others who struggle. The mother of two children -- a boy, 9, and a girl, 7 -- she says she understands why so many parents are frustrated with schools.

"We need to take psychiatry out of the schools and bring back the spiritual," Alley says. "We need to treat children as a life force, not as a slab of meat sitting there in a chair but as living, breathing spiritual beings."