Pubdate: Tue, 30 Aug 2005 Source: Boston Herald (MA) Copyright: 2005 The Boston Herald, Inc Contact: http://news.bostonherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/53 Author: Dave Wedge Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) 'SOBER' SCHOOL EYED Hub Facility Would Help Teen Addicts When Laura Good was suffering from a nasty drug habit at the young age of 14, she had to go all the way to Minnesota to escape peer pressure in the Bay State and attend a truly drug-free school. "I was clean for a year and nine months and I tried going back to school and it just wasn't working. It was miserable," said Good, now 19 and sober. The teen, a multisubstance abuser with a particular taste for the designer drug ecstasy, repeatedly relapsed when she returned to classes at Arlington Catholic and Medford High School. After reading about a "recovery" school in Minneapolis in a magazine, she moved there in 2002 and graduated in June after three years of high school with other kids struggling to stay straight. She starts classes next week at Bunker Hill Community College and is now a key part of a task force working to get a recovery school open in Boston. "This is a dream that I've had - to have a high school around here for addicts," she said. Frustrated by epidemic-like surges in heroin and OxyContin use among teens, the state Legislature has earmarked $800,000 for "sober" schools in Boston and Springfield. "Three years ago, if we brought this up, people would have laughed," said state Rep. Brian Wallace (D-S.Boston), who is on the Legislature's Committee on Substance Abuse and Mental Health. "Now people have a different opinion and people are thinking outside the box." With backing from Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, the task force has its eye on two Hub sites and hopes to have the school open by January. The school will meet state curriculum requirements, and students, who must apply or be referred by the courts, will be drug-tested. "I think its time has come," said Boston fire Lt. Willie Ostiguy, who is on the task force. "We're not going to save everybody, but if we can make a little dent, we've accomplished something." Studies have shown that teen addicts who return to their old schools relapse 92 percent of the time while 90 percent in recovery schools stay clean and half go to college. While there are 18 "sober" schools nationwide, Boston's would be the first in Massachusetts, which ranks second in teen drug use and has seen a 600 percent hike in fatal overdoses of OxyContin and heroin since 1990. "We have a major OxyContin and heroin problem out there. I see the magnitude of it and it's scary," said Sen. Steven Tolman (D-Brighton). "We can curb the tide of drug abuse and have safe havens for youngsters in recovery." - --- MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman