Posted on Apr 4, 2023
Recovery high schools help kids heal from an addiction and build a future
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https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/04/04/ [login to see] /recovery-high-schools-help-kids-heal-from-an-addiction-and-build-a-future
Every weekday at 5280 High School in Denver starts the same way.
Students in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction gather on the steps of the school's indoor auditorium to discuss a topic chosen by staff members. One recent morning, they talked about mental health and sobriety. A teenage boy dressed in tan corduroys, a black hoodie, and sneakers went first.
"I didn't want to have, like, any emotion," he said. "So I thought, like, the best way to, like, put it down would be to do more and more and more drugs."
A classmate said she started doing drugs for fun and then got hooked. Another student said his addiction negatively impacts his mental health. A third announced an upcoming milestone.
"In, like, two days, I'll be six months sober," she said, as her classmates cheered.
The students attend Colorado's only recovery high school — one of 43 nationwide. These schools are designed for students who are recovering from substance use disorder and might also be dealing with related mental health disorders. The Denver school opened in 2018 as a public charter school that today enrolls more than 100 students.
Every weekday at 5280 High School in Denver starts the same way.
Students in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction gather on the steps of the school's indoor auditorium to discuss a topic chosen by staff members. One recent morning, they talked about mental health and sobriety. A teenage boy dressed in tan corduroys, a black hoodie, and sneakers went first.
"I didn't want to have, like, any emotion," he said. "So I thought, like, the best way to, like, put it down would be to do more and more and more drugs."
A classmate said she started doing drugs for fun and then got hooked. Another student said his addiction negatively impacts his mental health. A third announced an upcoming milestone.
"In, like, two days, I'll be six months sober," she said, as her classmates cheered.
The students attend Colorado's only recovery high school — one of 43 nationwide. These schools are designed for students who are recovering from substance use disorder and might also be dealing with related mental health disorders. The Denver school opened in 2018 as a public charter school that today enrolls more than 100 students.
Recovery high schools help kids heal from an addiction and build a future
Posted from npr.org
Substance Use
Children
Schools
Denver
Drugs
Posted 1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The school in Denver purposely keeps enrollment under capacity so additional teens can enroll anytime during the school year. A student won't get kicked out if they relapse, but there are two requirements: They must want to be sober and attend an outside recovery program.
"The No. 1 step is just letting them know out of the gate, no matter what's going on, that we love them," said Brittany Kitchens, the school's recovery coach. "We are here for them."
Kitchens teaches students how to navigate recovery and regulate their emotions. She likens herself to a hall monitor, constantly checking in with students and looking for changes in behavior.
"I tend to be the first kind of line that the kids will come to when they're experiencing something that is just a little bit too big for them to process," she said.
Some of these difficulties stem from traumas students have experienced, including sex and drug trafficking, and abandonment. Students also deal with traumas they have caused, Kitchens said, actions that landed them in jail or on probation.
Kitchens, who is in recovery herself, shares coping mechanisms with the students.
"A lot of times it just starts with, 'Hey, take a breath, breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth,'" she said.
Alexis has been in recovery for nearly a year, she said. The morning meetings where she and her classmates talk about mental health, sobriety, and other topics are an opportunity to build a community of friends who support one another, something she said she didn't have when she was using drugs.
"It's really hard to get sober young," she said."
..."The school in Denver purposely keeps enrollment under capacity so additional teens can enroll anytime during the school year. A student won't get kicked out if they relapse, but there are two requirements: They must want to be sober and attend an outside recovery program.
"The No. 1 step is just letting them know out of the gate, no matter what's going on, that we love them," said Brittany Kitchens, the school's recovery coach. "We are here for them."
Kitchens teaches students how to navigate recovery and regulate their emotions. She likens herself to a hall monitor, constantly checking in with students and looking for changes in behavior.
"I tend to be the first kind of line that the kids will come to when they're experiencing something that is just a little bit too big for them to process," she said.
Some of these difficulties stem from traumas students have experienced, including sex and drug trafficking, and abandonment. Students also deal with traumas they have caused, Kitchens said, actions that landed them in jail or on probation.
Kitchens, who is in recovery herself, shares coping mechanisms with the students.
"A lot of times it just starts with, 'Hey, take a breath, breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth,'" she said.
Alexis has been in recovery for nearly a year, she said. The morning meetings where she and her classmates talk about mental health, sobriety, and other topics are an opportunity to build a community of friends who support one another, something she said she didn't have when she was using drugs.
"It's really hard to get sober young," she said."
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