(WXMI) — Wedgwood Christian Services is bringing back an old program to help combat an issue that's continuing to face the country.
Substance abuse among teen and adolescents is an issue that is ever prevalent today.
According to Wedgwood Christian Services, one out of every seven teenagerswill need treatment for a substance use disorder.
Hence, the Intensive Teen Substance Abuse Program (IOP) was revived.
The probation alternative program focuses on group therapy, education and personal reflection, which goes a long way at these young ages.
"Current research says that 70% of adolescents will try a substance of some type before they reach 18,” said Kimber Decker, facilitator of the project. “We're really providing a lot of harm-reduction strategies and coping strategies for the situations that they find themselves in.”
The program works closely with the Kent County Probation and Juvenile Probation courts.
"So there's a pretty massive need for having intense services for teens or those under 18 and struggling with substance use disorder,” said Nick Bayer, project manager. "It allows them to have a higher level of care in peer groups, getting support for several hours a day to deal with the substance use issue."
According to The Recovery Village, 85% of juvenile offenders admitted to buying drugs in 2023.
The first group of teens met back on Nov. 12, meeting three times a week for three hours a day.
Another group that supports that work is Guiding Light, the nonprofit that does similar help across West Michigan.
FOX 17 spoke with Dave Johnson, a recovering substance abuser at Guiding Light, about what the IOP can mean for area teens.
“I think it's amazing. If you talk to any of these people living on the street, going through this type of addiction, they will probably say that that wasn't available for them," Johnson said. "You know, they've probably been locked up; they've probably been homeless, but they've probably never been able to get into a program when they were teenagers.”
The next group of teens will be forming and meeting in January of next year. Officials hope the program can continue to grow, adding more groups in the future.
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