The Discovery School of Virginia
By Holly Hunter | August 17, 2010
Tucked away in the rolling hills of central Virginia is The Discovery School of Virginia. I recently visited this therapeutic boarding school and talked over lunch with Chris Yates about their program.
The Discovery School affords opportunity for teen age boys and girls who are experiencing emotional complexities and behavioral problems to obtain therapy for their issues while the working on their academics. Discovery has developed an independent study center which allows students who have learning difficulties to be able to excel.
I was given a guided tour of each campus, the boys and the girls, by two of the students in residence. My first tour was given by young man who said he had been at Discovery for more than eight months. As we walked on the trails through the woods he explained their daily routine at Discovery. The walk was long from the school house to the cabins, but even in the sweltering heat of the summer the trees shaded the trails and made the walk pleasant. As we conversed about their routine – individual responsibility to keep their cabins neat and clean, keep clothes washed, folded and put away from the elements so they stay dry – he shared an interesting story with me about some parents he recently toured who were looking at the school for their son. He said after the tour was completed the mom looked at him and said she just didn’t think it will work for her son because he is not made to attend class; she explained that presently he was truant and needed to be forced into studying. A big smile came over the young man’s face as he recounted what he told the mom: after thirty or more days of sweeping the campsite, picking up sticks and limbs on the trails cleaning cobwebs and making sure everything stays neat everyday, all day he will want to go to school. Absolutely.
One of the first things I saw was a tent that was being rebuilt. The young lady told me that the roof was beginning to leak so it was time to replace the tent. When I asked why not just replace the roof, she told me that most of the cabins and tents only last about 2 -2½ years because the timbers begin to rot. So since the roof needed to be fixed, it was time to simply build new from the ground up. As we continued my tour I noticed this young lady had incurred some sunburn. When I asked her about it she indicated that she was on a canoe trip and didn’t use the sunscreen as she should have. She accepted full responsibility for the decision not to apply the lotion properly and went on to say that had this happened the previous summer she would have blamed everyone else for what happened to her. Discovery, she told me, has taught her to accept responsibility for all of her decisions regardless of what they are. Good decisions she added are easy to take credit for, but dumb decisions, not so much. What a great thing to hear.
I think the best part of the tour at Discovery was seeing the progress of the students. Transporting at-risk adolescents I see these students at what is quite possibly their worst. To see and talk with students who have been at their worst, are now in a structured environment openly accept responsibility for their decisions and actions; who are talking candidly about their future in a positive way is so exciting. After all this is what its all about.
Topics: At-Rick Adolescents, Therapeutic Schools and Programs | No Comments »
Eckerd Youth Alternatives
By Holly Hunter | July 27, 2010
I sat down yesterday with Eckerd Youth Alternatives Quality Control Officer, Greg Holeman to find out more about Eckerd schools and programs and their plans for the future.
100,000 Stories and Counting is printed on the front of their marketing packet; so I asked Greg is this really true? Greg told me that since the opening of their first outdoor therapeutic program (OTP) in 1968 and since they opened the first Southeast OTP for girls in 1969 Eckerd has built a continuum of care which includes 40 programs both public and private that work with at-risk teens and their families. Intervention and prevention services, home-based and community-based interventions, out-of-home placement, after-care and reintegration services in nine States comprise the essence of Eckerd. Through these avenues Eckerd helps their students learn how to redirect their behavior and take responsibility for their choices. Each one of the Eckerd programs take a positive approach to helping their students because, “…each child deserves to live a successful and rewarding life,” Greg said.
Through their Child Welfare and Behavioral Health programs Eckerd is able to reach out to kids in most every sector of life. Serving students ages 5-23 Eckerd works to provide support, guidance and wrap-around services to help preserve the family unit. In addition Eckerd has programs to meet the needs of students seeking independent living, family reunification and transitional group housing.
Greg told me that Eckerd is planning to open more private academies in the not too distant future. In this economy, is that a good thing to do? Greg said that Eckerd is reaching out internationally to families across the globe and with this evolution comes the need to expand their services to the private sector beyond Eckerd Academy in Suches, GA and Eckerd Academy in Brooksville, FL. Greg said Eckerd is also broadening the faith-based component of their services. In fact the book mark which is included with the material Greg handed me reads: EYA Making a Difference Every Day “Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, As long as ever you can.” John Wesley.
Eckerd does conduct tours of their private academies and asks that if you are interested you call and make an appointment. Eckerd has counselors ready to assist families in the private and public sector; academy admissions 800-914-3937 or for additional services call their help line: 800-554-HELP (4357). Remember to contact SafePassage Adolescent Services ® for a good and safe transition for your son or daughter to an Eckerd facility: 800.811.7911.
Topics: Teen Transport, at-risk adolescents | No Comments »
K-9 Demonstration Canceled
By Holly Hunter | June 24, 2010
The K-9 Demonstration and Cookout scheduled for today was canceled due to the extreme heat. With the heat index well over 100 degrees and as this was to be an outdoor demonstration, event sponsors SafePassage Adolescent Services and Eckerd Academy of the Blue Ridge were concerned for the welfare of the dogs, their handlers and other attendees and have decided to postpone the event until the weather cools off.
The event will be rescheduled in the fall toward the beginning of October.
Be on the lookout for upcoming announcements about this event.
Topics: SafePassage News | No Comments »
K-9 Demonstration and Cookout
By Holly Hunter | June 17, 2010
SafePassage Adolescent Services ® is pleased to announce that we are co-sponsoring with Eckerd Academy of the Blue Ridge a K-9 Demonstration and Cookout. The event will be held on Thursday June 24, 2010 from 1:00P until 5:00P at the Eckerd campus in Suches, GA.
K-9 trainers and handlers from the City of Griffin GA Police Department will be on hand to demonstrate how they use K-9 dogs in everyday law enforcement activities. These special dogs and their handlers will be present to demonstrate various techniques such as building and area searches; narcotics and explosives detection; criminal apprehension and more. The Eckerd facility will be available for tour and SafePassage Owner, Holly Hunter will be on hand to answer questions concerning the best ways to safely transport at-risk adolescents, and some SafePassage personnel will be on site as well.
The event is open to Educational Consultants, therapeutic boarding school, wilderness program and residential treatment center staff. Contact Mindy Heath at Eckerd Academy of the Blue Ridge: 800.245.2305 or SafePassage Adolescent Services ® 770.667.7467 to RSVP and get directions.
Topics: SafePassage News | No Comments »
Reactive Attachment Disorder
By Holly Hunter | April 13, 2010
Good Morning America has been following the story of the mother who put her seven year old, adoptive son on an airplane alone sending him back to Russia. Apparently the mother had a note with him that explained that this child was violent. Part of their follow up story indicated that the child may have Reactive Attachment Disorder or RAD as it is commonly referred to in the industry.
Today Juju Chang, GMA news anchor stated that having an adoptive child who is diagnosed with RAD is rare. I am not so sure about RAD being rare as our Transport Teams see a fare amount of it among at-risk teens we accompany to therapeutic schools and programs. Over the past thirteen years of transports for me personally more than sixty percent of the students I have transported were adoptive, and of those students more than half exhibited RAD traits. Were they all diagnosed as RAD? No. Most of the time parents don’t reveal the issues their teens are facing because, in my opinion, I have come to believe these parents think we will refuse to transport if we find out what is really going on. Quite the contrary is true.
In the world of transporting adolescents a good Agency like SafePassage it is not about passing judgment on what issues your teenager is dealing with. Certainly it helps to know what the family dynamics are and if your teen has been diagnosed or has spent time at another facility or program. Why should we know these things, because the Transport Team is not walking into a situation blind. If your teen is smoking weed, sneaking into the liquor cabinet or skipping school parents would have no problem with revealing that information. But parents who have discovered that their teen is a drug dealer, is pimping or has been diagnosed with RAD seem to have a difficult time trusting us with this information.
One of the biggest reasons parents need to be forthcoming about their at-risk teen is so that we can assemble the Team that is best suited to assist your family. Its not that the other Teams can’t get the job done, but getting the job done is not our sole objective. Our primary objective is to safely deliver your student to the destination you have selected in a good mind set where your teen is prepared to begin the journey with a positive mental outlook. The only way I can know to have the Agent with a specialty in hostage negotiations work with your teen who is a master manipulator is for you to tell me your teen has been sneaking out at night and partying with the drug crowd; and the only way I can know to send the Agent who has a background in psychology and has made a career of working with difficult teens is for you to tell me your adolescent has been diagnosed with ADHD, Bipolar Disorder or RAD.
We all have issues. No one gets through life without facing a few unexpected challenges and SafePassage is here to assist families in crisis provide an opportunity for their at-risk adolescents to receive help for the issues they face, get their lives back on track and develop a skill set to see them well into the future. Call us in the SafePassage office and find out how the assistance we provide will benefit your family: 770.667.7467.
Topics: SafePassage News | No Comments »
Donate Travel-size Toiletries
By Holly Hunter | March 12, 2010
Experienced travelers know that most hotels try to make your stay more comfortable by providing travel size shampoos, soaps and other toiletry items. SafePassage Transport Teams that stay in a hotel the night before they assist families in crisis are encouraged to donate the travel size toiletries they receive at the hotel to a local shelter in their home town or drop these items by the office collection bin for donation.
One of the local charities that SafePassage up holds is New Beginnings, a support program of the Assistance League of Atlanta. New Beginnings assembles daily hygiene kits for the homeless living in shelters. AL ATL provides clothing, household and personal care items to thousands of needy individuals as they work to break the cycle of homelessness in Atlanta.
SafePassage offers the opportunity for others in the community to bring their unused travel size toiletries by the office for donation to this worthy organization.
Topics: SafePassage News | No Comments »
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