PROVIDENCE – A $20,000 grant from Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island has helped The Providence Center raise the full $400,000 needed to launch the Anchor Youth Recovery Community Center, the first youth-focused substance use disorder recovery community center in the state.
The program requires about $100,000 to start up, said Deborah O’Brien, The Providence Center’s president, and $300,000 to maintain it. But the program couldn’t move forward without the full amount, which the grant from BCBSRI helped it reach.
The program will be housed at 1280 North Main St. in Providence, and staffed by a manager and four to five counselors with personal experience in excessive substance use to aid in helping youths stay in recovery from addiction and avoid relapse, O’Brien said.
The center will promote the alternative peer group model, an evidence-based strategy based on the assumption that for young people, peer relationships – much like the ones that initiate and support drug use – are necessary to facilitate recovery. APGs use positive peer pressure to reduce risky behaviors and support abstinence.
Since being created in the early 1970s, APGs have produced a recovery rate greater than 85 percent. The nationwide recovery rate is approximately 30 percent, according to BCBSRI.
The center’s mission will be to counter the disproportionate rates of youth relapse nationwide. At 18 months post-treatment, 70 percent of adolescents relapse, compared with 46 percent of adults, according to a 2008 study conducted by Ramo and Brown.
Based on data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the center’s tailored support is relevant, considering Rhode Island has one of the highest rates of drug use for youths between the ages of 12 and 17 at 15.1 percent. The national average is 9.2 percent.
“Peer support has tremendous power to help all people strengthen their recovery,” said O’Brien. “Our mission with this new program is to provide young people with a foundation for lifelong recovery, and we’re grateful to organizations such as BCBSRI for helping make this possible. We think that programs like this, programs to help people stay well, are the building blocks of a more efficient health care system.”
The center will also provide youths a safe place to be after school and outside of the home, reported to be the most difficult time and place to abstain from using drugs and alcohol. Youths there will have access to daily recovery support including:
- Recovery meetings for youth that are facilitated by youth.
- Fun and creative activities such as dances, sober proms, movie nights, cooking classes and collaborative art projects to help create new friendships and build trust.
- Homework assistance to support students to catch up on their studies and graduate on time.
- Access to computers and Wi-Fi capability to complete homework, work on school projects and search for jobs.
- Parent involvement, education and support to better position families to aid their children’s recovery.
- A reflection-room designated space for a teen to reflect, consider their options and make positive choices.
The center is slated to open in early 2018 with the following hours of operation: Monday through Thursday: 2:30 to 7:30 p.m., Friday: 2:30 to 9 p.m., and Saturday: 3 to 8 p.m.
Rob Borkowski is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Borkowski@PBN.com.
