Phoenix Recovery Programs is a private non-profit organization providing residential and outpatient services to adolescent and young adult men recovering from alcohol/drug addiction. Each residence is licensed through the Minnesota Department of Corrections as a group foster home and has a licensed alcohol and drug counselor on staff. We opened our first facility, a boy’s house, in Maplewood, Minnesota in May of 1994. We currently have 3 residential facilities for boys - 1 in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, 1 in Janesville, Minnesota and our original home in Maplewood. In October of 2007, we opened our outpatient treatment program (Phoenix Adolescent Outpatient Treatment) in Maplewood - providing treatment that is both adolescent/young adult and relapse-prevention specific. In November of 2008, we opened our second outpatient program in Mankato. Both of these programs are licensed through the Minnesota Department of Human Servies as treatment providers dealing with chemical dependency and co-occurring mental health disorder in an integrated setting. As most treatment programs do an excellent job of treating adolescent and young adult men for chemical dependency, we see our task as teaching our residents and outpatient clients to apply the skills they learned in treatment, in their daily lives ("practice these principles in all our affairs"). While recovery can begin with treatment, it is continued in the community when the client returns. We also know that some may need a transition between treatment and going home or emancipating into the community. We believe it is important that we introduce our residents and clients to the recovery community. To that end, we take them to at least 3 community-based AA and/or NA meetings weekly, require that they obtain a sponsor at one of those meetings within their 1st month, and attend numerous community-based recovery functions (campouts, dances, conventions, etc.). We also provide a weekly "Mentoring Night" where men with 1 year or more of sobriety/clean time are involved in recreation and socialization with our clients. With the mentoring program, we do periodic events such as paintball, walleye fishing charters, skiing, etc. In addition, our licensed counselors provide group and individual counseling to address issues such as continued recovery, relapse prevention, family, and living issues (anger, sexuality, feelings, etc.). We recogniz that many of our clients may also be dealing with a co-occurring mental disorder. To address this possibility, we refer to an on-site Licensed Pychologist knowledgeable around addiction for assessment and treatment of mental health issues, as well as a Psychiatrist specializing in adolescent issues for medication, if needed. Our counselors also work closely with these mental health professionals, referents and concerned professionals to provide the best possible care and aftercare for our residents. All of our residents and many of our outpatient clients still in school attend a public recovery high school specifically for students in recovery from addiction, providing a safe, drug-free environment in which to continue their education. The schools also provide continued support for ongoing recovery and connection to a peer group of other adolescent and young adult men in recovery from addiction. As we believe that their families are the most important source of support for our clients, we provide and strongly encourage attendance at weekly family support groups and schedule individual family counseling sessions regularly. We also urge families to become involved in a weekly 12 Step support group of their choosing (Al-Anon, AA,NA, etc.). We will make referrals to family therapy and/or individual therapy for clients and/or their family members as the need arises. While we are an abstinence based 12 step program and believe addiction is a disease that is treatable, we recognize this disease is chronic, that relapse is sometimes part of the recovery process and some may relapse several times before achieving long term recovery. To that end, our doors are always open to our clients whether they need a period of residential care, additional outpatient treatment, or 1 or 2 individual sessions to get back on track.
