Teen Challenge opens women-only centre
BRANDON, MB—Teen Challenge has opened a new women's centre in southern Manitoba to help women struggling with alcohol and drug addiction.
Located on four and a half acres near Brandon, the centre includes accommodations for up to 11 women and offers treatment programs that are specifically tailored to help women. The first students entered the program at the beginning of January.
Steve Paulson, executive director at Teen Challenge, says that things have gone really well since the centre opened.
"We just want to be able to help as many people as want help," he says. "You can't even comprehend the pain and the bondage that these girls are in. Only Jesus is going to be able to heal those bruises and those hurts and those scars."
The newly renovated facility was created to help female addicts only. Teen Challenge's Winnipeg centre will now focus solely on helping male addicts.
Female addicts are different from male addicts in several ways, according to Teen Challenge staff. Past abuse is often a big factor in a woman choosing drugs and alcohol. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health has found that one in five women has been sexually abused in childhood and one in two has been sexually assaulted or has experienced attempted sexual assault as an adult.
Kim Lowes, the director of women's ministries at Teen Challenge, says that opening the women's centre has been exciting. At least one of the four women currently in the program has come to Christ, and all are on the road to recovering from their addictions.
Aimed at people ages 18 and over, Teen Challenge's program is a minimum of 12 months and focuses on training and discipleship through academics, counseling, life-skills training, work detail, recreation, spiritual disciplines and more.
The program is broken down into two phases, according to Lowes: induction, during which Teen Challenge staff help students connect with the Lord and identify what the root cause of the addiction is; and training, during which Teen Challenge staff help students work on the relationships in their lives and help them prepare for what life will be like when they are finished the program.
Paulson says that focusing solely on the drug and alcohol problem in a student's life isn't an adequate response to their needs. Rather, a holistic approach that introduces the student to Jesus Christ and addresses what is troubling them in their life works best.
"The point for us at Teen Challenge is about them understanding who Jesus is and what their purpose is here on this earth," Paulson says.
Teen Challenge has helped 25,000 students in over 90 countries since it was established in 1958 in New York. The central Canada branch was established in 1993 and has helped an estimated 1,200 students.
With any luck, they will be able to help hundreds more as a result of the new women's centre.
Lowe notes the transformation that has already taken place in the life of the first student who was admitted to the centre in January.
"There's been a physical change," Lowe says. "We think about when we brought her to the centre to now, and she's peaceful. She says, 'I'm a Christian!' and her face just lights up.
"We just want to give that smile to a lot of other girls, that's all."
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