School for teenagers in recovery continues to flourish, change lives
Ametro-area young adult is working as a peer counselor for teenagers attending a local private high school for youths recovering from alcohol and drug addiction. h Riley said he knows his input and support is critical to their success — because he’s been in their shoes. h He graduated from Mission Academy High School, which is known as the only “sober high school” in Oklahoma and is one of only about 50 across the nation. The fully accredited school is operated by Teen Recovery Solutions, a nonprofit started in 2006 by a group of parents looking to fill a void in available community services.
Joe Don Fennell, Teen Recovery Solutions’ executive director, said the nonprofit is trying to spread the word about its work.
He said the Reclaimed Luncheon, the organization’s biggest fundraiser of the year, is set for Oct. 7 at the Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club. Among other things, the organization will present its Dare to Believe Award to Tim and Kathy Payne, who were part of the “dream team” group of parents who started the nonprofit and who have continued to support Teen Recovery Solutions in a variety of ways.
“They literally started from scratch and said how do we start a high school,” Fennell said of the nonprofit’s founders.
For their part, the Paynes said they are proud of the nonprofit they helped start and nurtured over the years.
“We’re proud of being a part of the Teen Recovery Solutions family, an organization that continues to serve kids and parents with multiple opportunities for sober living,” said Kathy Payne. “Mission Academy wasn’t
around for our boys. Our only recourse was in-patient treatment, out-patient treatment, correspondence studies, counseling and local AA or NA (Narcotics Anonymous) with nobody their own age.”
Reclaiming lives
The coming fundraiser takes its name from Teen Recovery Solution’s mission to “reclaim teens from substance abuse and addiction by providing a sober high school and recovery support.”
Fennell said the nonprofit has a two-pronged approach by offering the high school during typical school hours each weekday and an after-school program that focuses on alcohol and drug ad
diction recovery. That’s when the students meet with counselors like Riley, whose last name has been withheld at the nonprofit’s request. Fennell said a modified 12-step program like one might find at Alcoholics Anonymous is part of the ongoing support for youths.
He said students are often referred by local schools and other entities. Sometimes a parent finds out about the nonprofit and calls on their own. Fennell said the school is funded through grants and donations and families pay on a sliding scale.
The school offers a high school curriculum that includes art and music classes, which are among students’ favorites.
Fennell said he and other staff members are particularly proud that the school successfully gets teens caught up if they are missing any credits needed to graduate high school due to issues related to addiction.
‘For example, it is not unusual to get a teen enrolled who should be a spring semester junior in high school, but is actually a fall semester sophomore due to alcohol/drugs, missed school or rehab,” he said. “Within a year or so, many times we get the teens caught up to their normal class or at a minimum one semester behind.”
Family affair
Students’ parents and families play a key role at Teen Recovery Solutions.
Ana Lankford, the nonprofit’s program director, said she conducts several assessments to determine a students’ suitability for Mission Academy and parental input is part of those assessments. She said teenagers who “have a willingness to explore a new way of life” are good candidates for the school.
However, Lankford said she thinks it’s important to give parents helpful information as they seek to help their child battling addiction. And this information is presented whether or not the student is ultimately enrolled at the school.
“I never want a parent to get off the phone with me without some ‘next steps,’” Lankford said.
Along those lines, Fennell said a support group for parents is part of the program because so many of them need to know that they are not alone and that there is hope for recovery for their teenager.
No one knows this better than the nonprofit’s founders.
Teen Recovery Solutions’ continued success has pleased this founding group, including the Paynes. The organization has risen to meet the challenges inherent in its mission — and that’s all they could ask for.
“It seemed like a pipe dream, especially since none of us really knew what we were doing,” said Tim Payne.
“We just knew we had a vision for what might be possible for kids and parents.”