Youth substance treatment program opens doors
By Eiji Yamashita
eyamashita@HanfordSentinel.com
Hanford Sentinel
July 28, 2008

Lee Ann Thomas' teenage son already has a rap sheet. He has barely turned 16. Her child, whose name is withheld for privacy, is a youth on the edge with drug and alcohol addiction problems -- in and out of juvenile detention and on the path to adult prison -- but still young enough to change his course. Thomas, a single mother living in Corcoran, struggles to straighten out her son. "When you're a parent, you're scared. You don't really know what to do because you can't control your kid once he gets to a certain age," Thomas said. "I felt hopeless." No more.

Ahmad Bahrami, coordinator for community involvement for West Care, stands in the facility’s treatment center in Hanford. (Eiji Yamashita/The Sentinel)

She regained her hope when she learned about West Care, an organization which runs the county's first full youth-focused substance abuse treatment program. She and her son have been participating in the program since this spring.

There's no easy fix for her son. Just released from juvenile hall in February, he went through the program for a few months. But he is already back in detention.

But this time things are different, Thomas said. Changes are palatable in her son's attitude, she said.

"Now he wants help. That's the breakthrough," Thomas said. "We're learning how to communicate. I'm learning how to listen."

Thomas is among the parents of some 30 adolescents who are now in the program called Y-Max, an outpatient program run by nonprofit West Care and funded by Kings County Behavioral Health.

On Wednesday, West Care celebrated its official opening in Kings County. West Care's main office is housed in vintage buildings on China Alley, but its satellite sites provide services in Corcoran, Avenal and the juvenile hall.

The new program targeting adolescents -- a population historically underserved -- was welcomed by the county's strengthening prevention community that has been stepping up in its effort to fight meth abuse and other addiction issues in the Valley.

"Right now as an adolescent, you really can't get services in California unless you're arrested," said Maurice Lee, regional vice president of West Care. "This is just a step in the right direction but by no means an end to our problem."

West Care comes in with a mentality of becoming part of a countywide collaboration to "close the gap" to the problem in Hanford and the surrounding areas, Lee said.

An old herbal store building and merchandise store building on China Alley have been renovated and converted into a space where the youth and their families could come in for help in dealing with substance abuse.

West Care officials say Y-Max, short for Youth Maximizing Treatment, is one of the fully adolescent-focused programs in the south Valley.

"What's unique about this program is that it uses an evidence-based curriculum called the Matrix model, which is one of those models that is scientifically proven to be effective in an outpatient setting," said Ahmad Bahrami, coordinator for community involvement.

Success rates of substance abuse treatment programs are generally low, averaging about 35 percent. The success rates of the Matrix programs range from 75 to 80 percent, according to Bahrami.

Y-Max accepts participants who are between the ages of 14 and 17. They may be referred by schools, the probation department, CPS, or parents. But the organization encourages the youth to refer themselves.

At first sight, the West Care office doesn't look like a treatment center. With its group rooms with cozy sofas, colorful Chinese theme, and a game room equipped with a flat-screen TV, video games and a pool table, it looks like a youth recreation center.

Bahrami said the organization wanted to blend in with the historic ambiance of the area while creating an atmosphere where the youth could feel welcome, even when they do not have a session.

"Let's say you have a group from 5 to 6, and you get out of school at 1 o'clock. You have nothing to do for three to four hours," Bahrami said. "Instead of getting into trouble, they can come and hang out here. It prevents them from hanging out in a negative environment, either in their neighborhood or homes or friends."

The reporter can be reached at 583-2429.


http://www.hanfordsentinel.com
Copyright © 2006 Lee Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.