Pubdate: Thu, 19 May 2005
Source: Times Argus (Barre, VT)
Copyright: 2005 Times Argus
Contact:  http://www.timesargus.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/893
Author: Peter Hirschfeld
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

NEW ADDICTION TREATMENT HAS FAITH AT ITS CORE

JOHNSON -- Vermont's newest residential drug addiction treatment
center is encouraging men 18 and older to trade drugs and booze for
Bibles.

Teen Challenge Vermont, a missionary arm of Assemblies of God, a
Pentecostal church with 2.6 million members nationwide, celebrated its
grand opening Wednesday, with Gov. James Douglas attending the
ceremonial ribbon cutting.

For the 16 men who have been enrolled in the 15-1/2-month program
since January, the center says it offers an intensive alternative to
other addiction programs. Addicts at the Collins Hill Road sanctuary
in Johnson commit to a highly structured, faith-based recovery program
that includes up to six hours of Bible study per day and limited
contact with the outside world.

"At other rehabs I've been to, they get the drugs out of the body and
they're done. Here at Teen Challenge, they work on the whole being,"
said Chris Hamelin, a 42-year-old St. Albans resident who underwent 16
unsuccessful rehab stints before arriving at Teen Challenge in
January. "They ultimately work with the mind, body, spirit and soul.
Here, I received something I've never received before --
understanding, compassion and unconditional love. And most
importantly, a personal relationship with God."

While Teen Challenge started more than 45 years ago to serve younger
addicts, the program has since expanded to serve anyone over the age
of 18.

Teen Challenge Vermont's opening comes after years of planning and
enough fund raising to purchase a $400,000 Johnson property that
includes dorm-style living quarters and a gym-sized worship center.
The staff is comprised entirely of Teen Challenge graduates; Pastor
Richard Welch, director of the Johnson center, kicked an 18-year
heroin habit when he enrolled in a Teen Challenge center 11 years ago.

"Addicts get so used to being labeled as no good, destitute, useless.
But God doesn't use labels," Welch said. "Jesus says 'anyone who comes
to me as a new creation, the old is gone and the new is come.'"

The scriptural message of rebirth and renewal punctuates the staffers'
Christian ethos. Addicts entering the program agree to cut off contact
with the outside world for at least a month, and phone conversations
and personal visits are limited after the initial "crisis
intervention."

Pharmaceutical aids such as methadone and anti-depressants are
forbidden by Teen Challenge doctrine, which encourages reliance on God
and self to kick illicit drug habits. The all-encompassing curriculum
includes job counseling and re-entry assistance, with an ultimate
goal, according to its mission statement, of initiating "the
discipleship process to the point where the individual can function as
a Christian in society, applying spiritually motivated Biblical
principals to relationships in the family, local church, workplace and
in the community."

Teen Challenge USA operates 156 centers across the United States and
has opened six centers in New England in the past five years. The
Johnson facility is the first Teen Challenge center in Vermont.

"We just feel like we're one alternative. No one alternative is good
for everybody, but we feel we're a valuable alternative, an effective
alternative, and we feel people can quit using drugs through their
faith in Christ," said Dave Scotch at Teen Challenge USA's
Springfield, Mo., headquarters.

The organization boasts of a 70- to 80-percent success rate for
graduates who complete the entire 15-1/2-month program and says the
drop-out rate is about 66 percent. Enrollment fees are negligible
compared to other options. Addicts pay only $500 up front, if they can
afford it, and are required to secure $200 per month in sponsorships
from friends, family or church groups.

The center is also a potential alternative for jail sentences. In
other states, the organization says, convicted drug offenders have
been offered a choice between prison and enrollment in a Teen
Challenge program.

The Johnson center has drawn drug abusers from towns across the state,
including Barre, Montpelier, Middlebury, Bennington and St. Johnsbury.
Douglas called grassroots, volunteer efforts like Teen Challenge an
important front in Vermont's battle against the drug scourge.

"Substance abuse is such a tragedy in Vermont," Douglas said. "One
size doesn't fit all. There are many strategies. And this will be the
right one for many people who come here."

Welch said Teen Challenge Vermont hopes to expand its 17-bed capacity
to 25 in the near future and has plans to one day build a center for
women, as well.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin