The Southwest Coalition for Substance Abuse Issues

September Coalition Monthly Meeting

Announced on August 9, 2017 9:01 pm
When:
September 19, 2017 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
2017-09-19T10:00:00-05:00
2017-09-19T12:00:00-05:00
Where:
Stepping Stones Conference Center
1621 Theodore St
Joliet, IL 60435
USA
Cost:
Free
Contact:
Gloria Bloodsaw

Topic: Generation Found

Presenter: Robert Snipes

Generation Found is the story of Archway Academy, a recovery high school based in Houston, Texas, and of the community in which it is nested. It tells the story of the community and the youth who were at risk of and involved in substance use, the parents, school personnel and community professionals who came together to address the problem. Devastated by an epidemic of addiction, Houston faced the reality of burying and locking up its young people at an alarming rate. And so in one of the largest cities in America, visionary counselors, law school dropouts, aspiring rock musicians, retired football players, oil industry executives, and church leaders came together to build the world’s largest peer-driven youth and family recovery community.
Generation Found takes a close look at how a system of treatment centers, sober high schools, alternative peer groups, and collegiate recovery programs can exist in concert to intervene early and provide a real and tested long-term alternative to the “War on Drugs.”

Following the showing of the 90-minute Generation Found video, a discussion will be held with the attendees, focusing on identifying the key components that made development and launching of the school possible, the components of the school that contribute to its success, the creation of alternative peer groups to support the recovery of Archway students, and the work of community members in supporting substance use prevention and treatment in Houston.

Objectives:

  1. Describe the situation in Houston that lead to the establishment of Archway Academy.
  2. Identify the community members and groups that supported the Academy.
  3. Discuss the community work that occurred outside of the school as part of the overall effort to address youth substance use and addiction.
  4. Identify key issues that brought different community resources together and enabled them to address the substance use problem in Houston.