There is a new movement in America. Recovery High
Schools. So, the questions is, “What exactly are these?” Well, they are exactly
what they sound like. They are schools that are devoted to teens who struggle
from the disease of addiction. These schools provide a safe, sober and
supportive school environment; and do this without throwing education to the
wayside.
As we all know, addiction has penetrated our youth in a
way previously unheard of. Kids are getting addiction to alcohol and drugs
earlier and earlier. I myself have a dear friend who has a fourteen year old
daughter who is addicted to heroin. So obviously the question is, “What are we
doing wrong?” Addiction is a real disease and it is not going anywhere. The
sheer number of high school age children abusing drugs are astounding.
According to a report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse
at Columbia University, of the 76% of high school students who have used
tobacco, alcohol, marijuana or cocaine, one in five meet the medical criteria
for addiction.
What can we do differently? Prevention and treatment are
both absolutely fundamentally important. But the biggest thing is recovery
support services.
Relapse rates are astronomical, especially in teens. And
I don’t find that surprising. Here we take an adolescent who is struggling
already with growing up and their hormones – disliking their bodies, wanting to
fit in, being unsure of who they are or where they’re going… and add alcohol or
drug addiction on top of that! Talk about confused. Kid wants treatment, so
then we institutionalize them and separate them for 30 days. Then, we throw
them right back into the environment where they were originally using in with
the people they were using with. Who wouldn’t relapse?
So, in response to these high rates of relapse among
adolescents who returned from treatment to traditional high school settings and
quickly resumed old patterns of behavior, recovery high schools are emerging
all over the nation.
New Jersey has been trying to get a recovery high school
for a long time. There were a lot of naysayers, a lot of “Not In My Backyard”
and a lot of roadblocks. The organizations two biggest champions were Pamala
Capaci Executive Director of Prevention Links and the schools namesake New
Jersey Senator Raymond Lesniak. Lesniak, who recognized the “compelling need”
for the specialized education provided by a recovery high school. “The biggest
issue [was] funding streams,” notes Capaci.“Education [funding] takes care of education [needs],
health and human services takes care of health and human services, and they
don’t mix well.”
The combined efforts of Capaci and Lesniak overcame such roadblocks, and the necessary financing was secured through fund-raising by
Prevention Links, and from the home school districts of each student. In
September of 2014, New Jersey The Raymond J. Lesniak Experience Strength and
Hope Recovery High School (E.S.H.) came to fruition as the first public
recovery high school in the state of New Jersey. E.S.H.’s mission is to create
an environment where education and recovery go hand in hand. The Raymond J.
Lesniak Experience, Strength and Hope (ESH) Recovery High School, located on
the Union County campus of Kean University currently serves two area students
who have been through treatment programs. Organizers and administrators hope to
accommodate many more in the coming years.
A colleague and good friend of mine Morgan Thompson,
secretary of Young People in Recovery – New Jersey, and the mentor coordinator
at the high school is a young person in long-term recovery herself, at age 24
and sober five years. Morgan says, "If we truly want to empower young
people to maintain their recovery, it is essential to provide a full and
comprehensive continuum of care. Recovery high schools are one of many recovery
support services that will promote sustained recovery."
Again with the idea of supporting recovery. If we are to
look at addiction as the disease it is, then we must have supportive services.
I believe that having a true continuum of care includes: recovery high schools,
collegiate recovery centers such as the incredible one at Rutgers, long-term
counseling, academic support and peer support services. Bottom line recovery is
hard. Support is vital for success and no one needs more support than the young
person in or seeking recovery.
This will in turn not only have an effect on those
suffering with addiction, young or old; but have a much broader effect on the
community.
A recovery high schools mission, unlike a traditional
high school, is to support both a student’s recovery as well as their academic
attainment. Students enrolling in a recovery high school have already
established their motivation to achieve and maintain their sobriety.
Attending a recovery high school is not punitive. There
is power in this alone because the students want to be there and want to get
better.
Although the exact combination of activities for a
student depends on that individual’s needs.
Examples of activities that are
contained on a student’s recovery plan:
• Participation
in self help groups such as AA and NA
• After school
one on one counseling
• After school
group counseling
• Mental health
counseling
• One on one
counseling with school recovery counselor
• Medication
assisted treatment
• Family therapy
These recovery high schools popping up all over the
nation all fall under the umbrella of the Association of Recovery Schools. ARS
prepares and inspires starters and operators of Recovery High Schools to
perform at their very best. Giving each state the tools to most effectively
serve their individual populations. They believe that while addiction thrives
in isolation, recovery is a process of hope and healing that thrives in the
positive peer communities of recovery schools. Kristen Kelly Harper executive
director says, “We believe that every student in recovery is of value and
worthy of an opportunity to be educated so they can heal, grow and ultimately
discover how to live their very best life.”
If we believe addiction is a disease, then we must treat
it as such. And in treating it as such, we must have a comprehensive
continuum of care. Recovery high schools are one very important piece in the
puzzle which is addiction.
Mariel Harrison,
NCADD-NJ Advocacy Organizer
If you want
to get involved with advocacy in New Jersey please e-mail mharrison@ncaddnj.org
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