Teen Challenge will dedicate new buildings

For 37 years, Teen Challenge International of Mid-America has provided a Christian-oriented program of treatment and education for men with drug and alcohol addictions. More than 3,700 men have graduated the program out of 5,000 participants.

Beginning today, the not-for-profit group's ability to do that job will take a big step forward with the dedication of a new education center, recreation center and dormitory on the 316-acre campus on County Road 621.

The dormitory is only about half finished, executive director Jack Smart said Wednesday. But the academic center is finished and the recreation center is nearly done.

Even when the dorm is finished, and the center's capacity increases from 138 to 210, there won't be an immediate push to fill all the dorm rooms. "We won't take them all in at once," he said. "We will need to increase staff and our operating income to accommodate them."

Built by Denali Construction Inc. of Cape Girardeau, the $2.3 million project was announced in 2005. Originally estimated to have a $1.8 million budget, rising construction costs have pushed the price tag to $2.35 million. That goal has been met, but much of the money is still just pledges, so Smart is still seeking out additional donors.

"These are pledges, and we need to have people fulfill the pledges over time," he said. "We could still use some money."

One of the biggest donations -- $233,940 -- came from the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation of Tulsa, Okla. Much of the rest was raised in the area, Smart said.

Teen Challenge, despite its name, accepts men of all ages with substance abuse problems. The current population of 114 at the Cape Girardeau training center range in age from 18 to 66, Smart said. Last year, the average age of those enrolled was just over 31, he said.

The program, which is affiliated with the Assembly of God Church, sends men to a four-month induction program, followed by 10 months at the training center. The new Lincoln Academic Center will have computer work stations for self-paced study of religious materials, as well as two classrooms for group studies.

Enrollees must take part in the classes, engage in labor, accept Jesus Christ into their lives and abstain from alcohol, drugs and tobacco.

"Our highest priority is to get them to establish a personal relationship with Jesus Christ," Smart said.

The studies, Smart said, are "designed to help students learn to apply their faith in a practical way."

For example, he said, there is a class on Christian dating. Most of the men have dated, he said, "but they haven't dated the way a Christian ought to date."

The key to the lesson is morality, he said. An immoral approach to relationships can lead to immoral choices about drugs, alcohol or other things in life.

The 14-month program is needed to change the life of those enrolled in Teen Challenge, Smart said. A drug rehabilitation program can dry a person out in 30 to 60 days, he notes.

"But it takes time to understand the new concepts in their life," Smart said.

The men don't pay for the services Teen Challenge provides. And when they are part of a Teen Challenge work crew, they don't get paid. Most of the work is common laboring jobs, he said.

"There is something restorative about doing things with your hands, and feeling tired for the right reasons rather than because of drugs," Smart said.

The program hasn't done definitive studies of its long-term effectiveness, but reviews of the program show it has a 70 to 86 percent success rate.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126