A faith-based drug and alcohol addiction rehabilitation program that doesn’t talk about addictions at all with its patients for their duration in the program is sporting a higher sobriety rate than secular programs.
“Teen Challenge is Christ-based drug and alcohol rehab program for men or woman,” said executive director Juan Manigault. The program serves each student for one year and helps addicts from 18 to 60 years old.
“The teen name goes back to the founding of the program in 1958,” said Manigault. Teen Challenge was founded by pastor David Wilkerson in Brooklyn, N. Y. to help teenage gang members.
On July 21, three of Teen Challenge’s students attended the Rimbey Church of the Nazarene as part of an outreach expedition to share what life was like before Teen Challenge and how they have changed since entering the program.
Faith and a family man
“My life growing up there was really tough. I didn’t feel secure or wanted. I felt like something was wrong with me,” said Dan. (Teen Challenge doesn’t use last names for confidentially reasons).
Dan grew up on a farm west of Slave Lake in an isolated, tight-knit community. His father was away working much of the time and his mother was unable to properly care for Dan and his many siblings; she eventually suffered a breakdown. Often Dan was sent to school in dirty clothes and had a hard time making friends.
By age four Dan was suffering physical, mental and sexual abuse. “It just messed me right up.”
Dan spent much of his childhood feeling abandoned by his parents because when he was born they’d been hoping for a baby girl after already having several boys. “They just really rejected me, that’s how I felt.”
At eight years old Dan began looking for something to fill the hole in his life — where love should have been — through drinking and stealing. By Grade 8 he was practically living on the streets of Slave Lake, dealing drugs.
Once 17 years old Dan’s parents sent him to a secular rehab centre in Calgary. “I was pretty much using drugs the whole time I was there.”
“Just before my 19th birthday I really hit rock bottom. I was contemplating suicide every day. I was done,” he added.
Dan was sitting in his mother’s kitchen when he turned to God with one last shred of hope.
Dan found and kept a good job and with a newfound strength was able to stay sober for eight years. However, he still felt empty inside. Dan says he was still too self-absorbed, a workaholic, and family turmoil caused him to go back to old ways for a year and a half.
Eventually Dan found his way back to church but it wasn’t enough. “There were areas of my heart who weren’t giving it all.”
Dan attempted to choke back tears as he went on to tell about the understanding woman he met and married. “I call her my gift from God, she really is.”
When their son was a year old Dan’s life began travelling in reverse. “I started reaching out for those things that weren’t God.”
He knew about Teen Challenge and knew he needed to make a change. Dan is graduating from the program in a few weeks and has made a resolution to portray the strength of God in his life.
“I’m going to be the father that my son needs me to be.”
Prescription downfall
Unlike Dan, Mike grew up in a God-worshiping home and attended a Christian school. “I had a great life growing up.”
Mike began to gravitate toward the “bad kids” in middle school and started drinking and smoking marijuana. “I was into photography and thought I had an open mind smoking pot.”
The parents of Mike’s friend let them smoke marijuana in the living room and Mike believed if it was something they were allowed to do openly then it couldn’t be bad for him.
Before Grade 12 Mike had moved on to hard, ‘party drugs.’ “I graduated but I don’t remember walking across the stage.”
After school Mike landed a construction job but felt his life was going nowhere. His parents forced him to move to Manitoba, hoping it would help.
“After a few months there I was clean and I thought I’m cured, time to go home.”
On the way home his car slid into oncoming traffic on icy roads.
Restarting his life in Abbotsford didn’t go as planned. Because of a broken femur Mike couldn’t work and he began drinking and smoking; then a friend introduced him to oxycodone.
After six months Mike was taking four to six of the expensive pills per day. To fund his habit he started selling fake concert tickets, and as his bank account grew so did his usage.
Mike was caught and charged with five accounts of fraud. With no money he was feeling the effects of withdrawal. “I felt like I was dying.”
A doctor used prescription oxycodone to attempt to wean him from the drug but Mike began to buy street oxycodone and heroin instead.
His father told him about Teen Challenge but Mike refused and disappeared for a day. “My dad was pretty livid. He said you can either go or talk to this guy. So I did and something stirred in me.”
Mike decided to attend Teen Challenge. “I usually lied to people but when I said that I really meant it, it was weird.”
Before he could attend the program Mike went to detox for 10 days because of the amount of drugs he was taking.
Mike hadn’t been to church in a while and once at the faith-based, residential program he felt people were over-welcoming and he had no personal space. “Looking back now I really appreciate it.”
“Growing up I went to church but I never really liked it. Sometimes I still don’t like it,” said Mike. He feels church speaks only of the Bible and portrays God as a being looking down at Earth taking notes on everybody.
To Mike, God is someone always walking beside him keeping him on the straight path. “This is my bro, this is my homie,” he said, waving his hand through the air next to him.
Faith through destitution
Carter, born in Red Deer, also grew up in a Christian home and attended a Christian school. When Carter spoke at the church he was 18 years old.
He began drinking and taking drugs early in his teens. When he transferred to Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School his partying ways followed.
His parents forced him to attend Notre Dame High School but the drug use increased. “This is when I first left home, broke,” said Carter, who was stealing to be able to afford his habits.
From 15 to 18 years old Carter was homeless and couch surfed as much as he could. When two friends died in a car accident his life spiralled further downward. He attempted to return to Notre Dame twice but was kicked out both times.
During this time Carter overdosed on MDA, a psychedelic, psychoactive drug. “This scared me away from drugs for a little while.”
But sobriety didn’t last long and eventually he was sent to the hospital a second time for mixing drugs and alcohol.
By age18 Carter’s life revolved around drinking, drugs, sex and organized crime. “And I glorified it. I didn’t care about human life.”
Carter encouraged drug use and addictions for his own personal gain.
“In a weird way, through it all, I still believed in God,” Carter remembers, when in bad situations, thinking it wasn’t his time to die and God had created him for a reason.
His parents convinced him to enter the Teen Challenge program and he told his mother he’d stick it out for three months — he recently completed his seventh month.
Manigault feels the Teen Challenge program helps addicts stay clean is because it focuses on the root causes of the addictions; a personal relationship with God. The program comprises 14 courses that address an addict’s relationship with God and other people.
“The personal rights deal with the Charter and individual rights. We talk about how those individual rights deal with God and anger,” said Manigault.
“Most addicts are focused on themselves and their schedules and their timelines. We want them to focus on beyond themselves. God has a plan for their life and every day they have the ability to choose,” he added.
The structured program has students up every day at 6:30 a.m. and lights out by 10 p.m. Mornings are dedicated to spiritual growth and development, afternoon to vocational development and evenings to personal and academic growth.
The students are required to read 20 to 30 books as part of the program, write book reports and read the bible. “What’s amazing to see is how a man matures over the course of 12 months,” said Manigault.
Ten years ago Northwestern University of Evanston, Ill. Conducted a study that found 70 per cent of graduates from the Teen Challenge program were still clean five years later.
In the same amount of time secular programs have a seven to 20-percent success rate. “We think it’s because we focus on the root cause. One of the differences between us is we are a voluntary program,” said Manigault.