Helping Hands: Daybreak counsels teens with drug, alcohol dependency

Name of program: Daybreak Youth Services

What it does: This program provides inpatient and outpatient treatment to teens with drug and alcohol dependency problems.

According to treatment director Richard Miles, the outpatient program is helping 500 adolescents.

The outpatient program provides assessment of the level of dependency and individual, group and family therapy.

The inpatient program has 34 beds and is co-ed. It provides treatment for kids who need more intensive care.

Who runs it: This nonprofit organization is an independent program with a board of directors. It was founded about 25 years ago by people from Whitworth Presbyterian Church.

How to get help: Youths in need of help are usually identified first by their parents, according to Miles. Sometimes they might be referred by the criminal justice system or by mental-health workers. Miles said it isn’t often that teenagers themselves decide they need help.

“The normal route is through outpatient care for assessment,” said Miles. If the outpatient care isn’t working, the kids move on to inpatient care, he said.

If you think your teen may need care, call Daybreak at 624-3227, ext. 26. The cost can be covered through insurance, or families in need might be eligible for a scholarship.

Typical client: “We see all kinds of people,” said Miles. He said the average age in the outpatient program is 15 1/2 . The average age for the inpatient program is 16, and they see kids of all kinds between the ages of 12 to 18.

How to give help: Anyone wishing to donate to Daybreak can call Kathy Kramer, a development specialist, at 444-7033.