It is one thing for a marketing brochure or television commercial to tell someone looking for substance use disorder treatment that a program has staff who understand what the client is going through, but are there visible signs that would indicate the treatment staff truly have empathy? Full disclosure, I do not know how many people work for Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge. However, while gathering data for this study and book, I interacted with approximately thirty separate individuals. These individuals held jobs/roles ranging from maintenance crew to administrators to program directors.

Of the people at the Minneapolis, MN, MNTC location, over 90% of those whom I talked with were former clients of the long-term (approximately 13 months) program. One thing is obvious when talking to a graduate of MNTC: they love to share their testimony about their time in recovery and why they work for MNTC. They stay because of what the programs have done for them, and they want to pay that back and help others achieve sobriety.

They have been to other programs as clients, but according to them, Teen Challenge is the only place that works, and they want to help the next person coming into the program by providing an example of someone who was where they are and made it. Positive reinforcement by example, that this program works.

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One difficult and overlooked area of substance use disorder treatment is transitioning back to living in the world and outside of the cocoon of the treatment facility.

One client said that when the facility decided that she had completed her treatment, i.e., she was past the time that they had allocated for treatment, she was forced out of the treatment facility. This facility did provide her with a list of sober houses that she could move to, but they did not make sure that she was signed up to move into one of them. This facility also provided her with a list of outpatient treatment options. She told me the options mainly comprised of evening meetings in church basements.

At Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge, many clients are connected to a mentor. The volunteer mentor program is managed by an MNTC employee, and background checks are completed for every mentor before they are connected to a client. The role of these mentors is to provide an example of what life can be like and how to function in a sober world.

The main drawback to this MNTC program is the limited number of mentors; thus, there are not enough mentors for every graduate. If anyone reading this is interested in becoming a mentor, contact me, and I can connect you with the MNTC volunteer mentor.

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One aspect of substance use disorder treatment that is overlooked at most facilities is the empathy of the staff towards those seeking help. At Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge, nearly every person who interacts with the clients is a graduate of the program. This provides two major advantages of MNTC over other treatment programs: the staff’s empathy towards clients and a personal understanding of how to address the experiences of new clients.

By staff, I am referring to the administration people, counselors, and nearly everyone who works there. I cannot say this applies to all the people at Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge, but it does apply to many of the staff. This was not a scientific poll to see who graduated. When this study began, I contacted some of the staff to set up interviews with graduates, and many of them said I could start with them. Most of the staff that I reached out to before this study began are MNTC graduates.

These MNTC graduates are so excited about their transformation that they want to tell their story to everyone they meet.

MNTC staff are different because this isn’t just a job they go to and leave at the end of their shift. I also know people who work, or have worked, at other treatment facilities, and they have told me that at the end of their day, they just leave. They have not dealt with substance use disorder themselves; this is just a job to make money, and those whom I have spoken to have difficulty understanding why the clients can’t just stop their abusive behavior.

The study in this book focused on the Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. However, the subjects of the study came from different states for treatment at MNTC in Minneapolis. As a part of the study, different Adult and Teen Challenge (ATC) locations were reviewed. For the residential programs, the basic components are the same. MNTC was the chosen focus for this study as it was near the author’s home, thus making access to staff and graduates easier for the study.

The graduates in this study on substance use disorder treatment were from Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and one from Florida. The reasons for their treatment in Minneapolis, Minnesota, were varied. Many who came from Minnesota were at MNTC as part of a plea agreement with the courts, which offered reduced time if they completed the program. Others were at MNTC because a relative was trying to help them with their substance abuse and sent them to this location.

According to the Adult and Teen Challenge USA website https://teenchallengeusa.org/, there are 220 locations in North America alone. Help is available if someone just looks for it.

Many of the graduates from this study of Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge come to the program with a substance use disorder going back decades. In other words, they have been treated for 25-40 years prior to coming to MNTC. Some of them start abusing as early as 10years old. Many by sneaking alcohol from parents who were also abusing alcohol or other drugs, thus providing an example for their children. Children are always watching the adults around them, and when they see mom and dad getting drunk or high, and still able to function enough to put food on the table, the kids think they can too.

Alcohol and other drugs are easy to get if your parents leave them out and don’t pay attention to how much is in the bottle or how many cans are in the refrigerator.

Those adults who come to Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge are coming to get sober, and all those in this study have graduated from alcohol to drugs like methamphetamines, heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, and other drugs mixed with alcohol. One graduate said, “I started with alcohol at 13, then moved to marijuana and cocaine.” He added that “the cocaine would wake him up from his drunken stupor to the point that he believed that he was able to drive a car.”

Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge is the only program that has worked for these clients. Some went through as many as 12 other treatment programs in 20 years before coming to Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge and finding a program that has helped them get sober and stay sober.