You are worried about a teen in your school. Maybe a fresh start hoped for in this term didn't pan out, and he spends more time in the ER and police stations than in the classroom. Or a parent has called you, wondering why a daughter once on the honour roll has failed her December exams. Perhaps your heart sinks as you read this because you are that parent calling the teacher. With all the care, worry and good intentions, your child is in a dizzying downward spiral, and you don't know what to do.
Drugs, family conflict, school failure, depression, anxiety—the issues our teenagers face are frightening and real. Why do some kids make it and others don't? And when the teen's school and family have exhausted their resources, where do you go?
We hear these questions daily from desperate parents and concerned educators who recognize a teen in crisis and who need an effective intervention. In fact, the founders have been answering these calls for almost ten years and in June 2006 were finally able to respond with a local solution when the program opened to welcome its first teens and families. After 10 years of answering these calls in their private practice, the founders decided to respond with a comprehensive, intensive program that welcomed its first teens and families in 2006.
Throughout the year, teens arrive—pale, angry and feeling hopeless—at the school, situated on 200 acres of conservation land. Within a few days, they are hiking in Algonquin Park. A month later, they are re-engaging with their family, school, community service, expressive arts, athletics, recreation, and therapy. Upon graduation, teens head back to their community, their school or go onto university. The light is back in their eyes.
Communities, government, researchers and the press are acknowledging that the devastating problem of drug abuse is not unique or limited to a particular socio-economic group or geographic location. We all know someone who has been or is going through the nightmare of a teen in crisis.
Challenging the stigma of drug abuse, working together as educators and parents, we can help these kids before they disappear. The creativity, resourcefulness and determination that make these kids so good at being “bad,” are the same characteristics that can make them leaders. These are not “bad kids,” and there is hope, in a place close to home.
A life-line for troubled teens, and their families, at Pine River Institue
|
