Teen Challenge expands rehab centre for women
AURORA, ON—Fiona MacDonald was sitting in a solitary confinement jail cell when she first thought of asking God to help her heal broken spirit.
"I was hopeless," MacDonald says. "I was full of hate. I was a hurt person and I was hurting other people. I was smoking crack. I was hooked on heroine. I was completely lost, and didn't see any way out."
While in prison, she heard that Teen Challenge was opening a new drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre for women just north of Toronto. She enrolled a few weeks later, and on January 15 MacDonald will become the centre's second graduate.
"I'm very excited," MacDonald says. "It's the first thing I've finished in a long time."
Teen Challenge GTA Women's Centre opened in 2008 with facilities for 14 women. Now the centre is expanding to include spaces for 37.
"It's awesome, because the need is horrendous," says development director Tara Saunders. "Since our dedication at the end of September, our phone has been ringing off the hook. We get calls from all over Canada. There are so many women out there who need to find freedom."
There are about 20 Teen Challenge locations across Canada. The GTA centre is the largest for women. The program is voluntary and lasts a minimum of 12 months. While entrants must be over 18, there is no upper age limit.
The curriculum includes issues such as self-worth, family relationships and conflict resolution. "Addressing what got them here to begin with," Saunders says. They also learn practical life and career skills.
Besides a nominal entrance fee, costs for the program are covered by donation. Individuals can sponsor a student for $35 a month. Sponsors then help in the healing process through regular correspondence and are invited to attend the graduation event.
"These women lived a life where it was, 'Who can I use and who's using me?'" Saunders says, "and suddenly they've come into an environment where they are embraced and loved.
"We feed them, clothe them, educate them, counsel them, facilitate family relationship rebuilding. We take care of all that so they can focus on healing while they are here and learning to walk with the Lord and lean on him."
MacDonald adds: "For anybody that is in the midst of their addiction, Jesus in the one who ultimately saves. But it's hard to find that in the middle of that addiction. So this is a safe place to snuggle up to Jesus and find out who you really are in him."
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