Pubdate: Mon, 15 Sep 2003
Source: Bluefield Daily Telegraph (WV)
Copyright: 2003 Bluefield Daily Telegraph
Contact:  http://www.bdtonline.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1483
Author: Bill Archer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

TEEN CHALLENGE WAGING WAR ON ADDICTION

ATHENS - Appalachian Teen Challenge is waging a war against drug and alcohol
abuse every day, but the emphasis is on preparing young men for a life after
addiction. "We're addressing the real root problem here," Jim Nickels,
director of the Teen Challenge center near Athens said. "We're trying to
reach the whole man."

Nickels said that young men are students in the Appalachian Teen Challenge
program for a year and that studies reveal that 70-80 percent of the
individuals who complete the Teen Challenge program remain drug-free for at
least seven years after completion.

"I do not feel that outpatient care (of addicts) is working," Nickels said.
"Only residential care (programs) work to treat the whole person and treat
the root of the problem."

There are 185 Teen Challenge programs in the U.S., as well as 150 more
operating in other nations. The program started in 1982, and the Mercer
County center was established in 1985. There are two sites in West Virginia,
an adolescent facility in Wheeling and the young adult center in Athens.

"When we get a young man, we try to move him out of the community where he
got in trouble and relocate him," Nickels said. "Young men from Mercer
County will be sent to other parts of the country."

The program is entirely driven by private donations and enjoys the support
of local police departments, the Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime
Task Force, the State Troopers Association as well as many civic groups and
churches.

"Just the other day, we had a young man who said he laid outside our gate
all night long so he could be here when we opened up," Nickels said. "We
have a waiting list, but we also go into the schools and warn students about
drug and alcohol abuse."

Young people who participate in the Teen Challenge learn vocational skills,
but they also get the opportunity to serve the community. For the past few
years, Teen Challenge volunteers have been a vital manpower link to setting
up the Greater Bluefield Chamber of Commerce Coal Show and Better Living
Show.

"We're teaching them how to give back to their communities and they're
willing to do their best," Nickels said.

Nickels said that Teen Challenge's holistic approach to the drug problem has
a good success rate, but he added that more young people are becoming
addicted at an ever-increasing pace.
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MAP posted-by: Josh