Substance-abuse treatment programs focus on helping addicts recover control of their lives through accountability and re-education. Here’s a look at a couple of local treatment programs, both of which have room for additional participants.
Step 13
For men only. Its principle tenets are sobriety, work and accountability.
Up to 151 residents pay fees of $10 a day (or $260 a month) and stay an average of nine months. Punctuality is expected from the beginning. “When I filled out the application to come to Step 13, they told me to come back at 3 p.m. — right at 3 p.m., not one minute before and not one minute after,” said Tom Rael, a Step 13 resident.
Residents are required to take Antabuse, an anti-alcohol drug, and blow a Breathalyzer every time they return from an off-site appointment. They are subject to random urine analysis tests, along with mandatory attendance at sobriety support meetings.
Participants work, either in-house at Step 13 or through the organization’s partnership with Goodwill Industries and Ready Temporary Services.
To remain in the program, residents must get up and make their beds at 6 a.m. and work from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. They’re responsible for buying their own food and cooking their own meals and taking classes on budgeting and finance.
Over time, residents earn privileges, such as moving from the dormitory bedroom to a private room or apartment. About 32 percent of the men accepted at Step 13 successfully transition to sobriety and independence.
Arapahoe House
Thirteen facilities statewide treat adolescents and adults, with gender-segregated dormitories. The cost is determined by a sliding-scale fee based on income.
The 20 adolescent residents, ages 12 to 18, remain on campus throughout their stay, with a regimented schedule that includes school classes, behavior modification workshops, activities, recovery support meetings and job training.
Residents are drug-tested whenever they return from going off-campus with a pass for a meeting with a physician, court or family member. They’re also subject to random drug tests.
Claire Martin, The Denver Post
