How Teen Challenge Canada prepares recovering individuals for life after graduation

The path to recovery from addiction is different for every single person who decides to seek help.

Once the difficult decision is made to take back control of their lives, individuals are often faced with multiple choices in front of them. Standard “rehab” programs can be very expensive and can last anywhere from 30 days and up, with most ending after only a few short months.

Some organizations do offer extended programs, and fewer yet work with graduates well beyond the completion of their program.

Teen Challenge Canada is a proven 12-month rehabilitation program that has been successfully preparing graduates to reorient their lives to successfully implement the tools and lessons learned while in the program into the rest of their lives.

According to the Teen Challenge Canada 2021 Impact Report, “Recovery is the lifelong process that allows for freedom from addiction and true sobriety. During our 12-month program, those in our care learn to live without substances and start to think more clearly and find hope for the future. ‘Guided by dedicated Teen Challenge staff, individuals begin to deal with underlying trauma. This is the beginning of recovery,’ says [Don Trepanier, Chief Program Officer at Teen Challenge Canada].”

Teen Challenge Canada offers a 5-phase program to individuals who participate.

The initial year-long program encompasses the first three phases, where every individual is given the opportunity to “detoxify their minds and bodies” with the help of an Accredited Addiction Counsellor and a tailored treatment plan.

Clients learn to create routines, prepare for future employment, and attempt to restore relationships within their families and communities while developing an exit strategy and relapse prevention plan.

After a year has passed, clients can choose to stay within the program for up to another two years. Phase4, if positions are available, has clients working alongside staff and others in program while continuing to be mentored by counsellors and staff members. After 24 months in the program and the successful completion of Phase4, a Phase5 position may be applied for as graduates continue work alongside those in the program in a staff role.

Teen Challenge Canada is not funded by the government and depends completely upon donations to support its not-for-profit programs across the country.

Teen Challenge Canada has nine centres across the country with the newest centre having recently opened in the Ottawa area (Renfrew, ON). These centres help anyone with addictions to drugs and/or alcohol release their dependence on these substances and become productive members of the community once again.

You can save a life today!

Do you have a vehicle you don’t want or need? Consider donating it to Teen Challenge Canada, whether it’s in working shape or ready for the scrap yard, to support those in your community to receive the help they need to recover from addiction. Donated vehicles receive a fair market tax receipt for a minimum of $600.

Simply by donating a vehicle that you don’t need, you are helping to make the National Capital community stronger.

If your vehicle is ready to go to help change a life today, www.donateyourcar.ca or call 1-(800)-856-8902.

To learn more about the ministry of Teen Challenge Canada, www.teenchallenge.ca