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 Program
Gives Youth Alternative to Jail Time
by Susan Demas, Daily Press & Argus, November 9, 2004
For more articles like this
visit
http://www.bridges4kids.org.
He had just
turned 10 when he got high for the first time. By the time he
was 13, he was doing acid and cocaine, with a little crack and
marijuana thrown in.
To support his $300 a day habit, Brighton resident Justin
Marchak said he would break into houses and cars to get the
cash. At 15, the cops caught up with him. Given the choice of
jail time or drug rehabilitation, he chose the latter and never
looked back.
"I'd been through a lot of programs before," said Marchak, now
20 and working as a tradesman, "but I decided I'd just had
enough, and was willing to make a change in my life."
Marchak knows it's a constant battle to stay clean, and he
brings this experience as a peer educator for monthly Minor in
Possession (MIP) weekend interventions. The next session is Nov.
12-14 at Wild Wood Ranch in Oceola Township.
Sponsored by the Human Development Center Inc. (HDC) of Genoa
Township, the Livingston_Washtenaw Substance Abuse Coordinating
Agency-funded program is an alternative for suspending youth 11
to 17 caught violating school or community rules by using
alcohol, drugs or tobacco. A parent or guardian must attend one
session. Alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, LSD and heroin are the
most common drugs used by county youth, HDC Director Anne
King-Hudson said.
During the 2003-2004 school year, 77 kids successfully completed
the MIP weekend, which helps them build coping skills to refuse
drugs through education and team-building exercises. About 60
percent are sober, no longer in the court system and are back in
school, King-Hudson reported.
"I'd say 99.5 percent of youth who walk in the door are angry
that they've been made to be there, taken away from Homecoming,
a football game or their girlfriend," she said. "We see their
attitudes change as we ask them to look at what got you here."
For his part, Marchak knows not all of the kids he helps will
follow his lead and give up using for good.
"I've seen a couple around ... and most aren't sober. For kids
15 to 25, the odds are about 10-1," he said. "But if I can help
some other people to not go through what I did, it makes it all
worth it."
For information on the weekend intervention, call (517)
545-5890.
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