‘Andre’ came to Wedgwood when he was 16. He had gone through a few substance use support groups, and even tried a detox program once, but he was still struggling. His use and behavior had escalated to the point his probation officer suggested Residential Treatment at Wedgwood. His first week with Wedgwood was rough. ‘Andre’ was angry, he was bored, he was guarded.  

‘Andre’ was used to almost all of his time revolving around using substances – figuring out where and how to get alcohol, weed, and pills, getting drunk and high to fit in with his so-called friends and forget for a moment all the abuse and trauma around him at home, and being so hungover he’d stay in bed for an entire day. 

You see, when ‘Andre’ was young, his parent’s struggled with substance use and after his dad died, they moved around a lot. Between the new schools, not having a good outlet for his grief, a lack of healthy adults in his life, and feeling like he had to take care of his siblings and mom – it was really hard for ‘Andre’ to make and keep good friends.  

‘Andre’ used to brag about all the fun he and his ‘friends’ had, and crazy things they would do when they were partying. Except he only sort of remembered it – so much of his stories were really things people told him he did. ‘Andre’ insisted that the only way to really have a good time was to party hard, any sort of get together or activity without drugs or alcohol was lame – “that ain’t it, bro” he’d say. 

The first few weeks ‘Andre’ was in Residential Treatment at Wedgwood, he was bored, angry, and guarded. He couldn’t do any of the things he usually did (drinking in a recovery program is frowned on apparently). He didn’t see why he needed to be there – away from his siblings and ‘friends’. And he certainly didn’t want to participate in group therapy sharing his feelings with a bunch of people he didn’t know.  

But this type of reaction and behavior does not surprise the team at Wedgwood. They provide consistency and support that many of our kids are just not used to, so it can take a while for them to adjust to what a sense of stability and acceptance feels like.  

‘Andre’ had a lot of work to do in developing healthy ways to spend his time, and what good friendships look like. After a few weeks of refusing to participate in the group activities his boredom and curiosity got the best of him. “It was alright” he told a staff member after they asked what he thought about a game night. Progress. 

‘Andre’ noticed pretty quickly how excited the other kids got really excited on Thursdays. There was a campus activity called LOVED every other week that he had been hesitant to check out because he’d heard someone say something about it being a youth group – and he had not heard of anything more lame in his life. But he couldn’t help but notice how happy the other kids looked when they came back from LOVED.  

‘We can go over to just see and dip out if you want,” one of the staff, who was hanging back with ‘Andre’ in the home, told him one Thursday. His curiosity won out again, and ‘Andre’ agreed to just go see what all the fuss was about. He ended up staying for the whole time, mostly because he’d never see anything like this before. 

About a month into his residential treatment at Wedgwood, ‘Andre’ decided to check out LOVED, the on-campus youth group. It was like nothing he’d ever seen before – and not just because it featured wacky games and a ‘Raffle Ticket Wizard’. What was astounding to ‘Andre’ was that the Chapel was FULL of kids, and adults, having an absolute blast without a drop of alcohol or an ounce of drugs in sight.  

So that first experience at LOVED he and a staff member just stood in the back, and he observed. When the next LOVED rolled around, ‘Andre’ sat with the rest of kids in his program. He didn’t really participate much but found himself clapping along while the others cheered during the games and raffle drawings.  

Before long, the team noticed that ‘Andre’ was asking when the next LOVED would be, he was posing for pictures at the photobooth, hyping up his peers during competitions, and he was even regularly volunteering to participate in the games. He was truly enjoying activities a few weeks ago he would have scoffed at and called ‘mad childish’.  

His experience at LOVED was carrying over into his treatment. ‘Andre’ had taken it upon himself to help the new kids feel more comfortable – “I’ve been there,” he told staff. “And Pastor Steve always talks about how part of LOVED is reminding others they belong, too.”   

Eventually the treatment team determined it was time for ‘Andre’ to transition into his next step from Wedgwood. He knew that the staff often gave each kid a photo book when they left, with pictures of the activities they did and milestones they celebrated while at Wedgwood. ‘Andre’ asked the team if they could track down and include some of the photos from the LOVED photobooth in his book. 

“I really want those pictures,” he said. ‘They’re the only pictures I have of me having fun sober. And I think I will need reminders that it’s possible to be sober and have fun sober when I go back home.” 

Wedgwood Christian Services is a place where ‘Andre’ could work through is trauma and recovery, AND gain a new perspective, rekindle some childhood joy, have (and remember) fun, develop healthy friendships, and experience being apart of a supportive community. 

Kids like ‘Andre’ might not be thrilled about being placed in Residential Treatment, but Wedgwood is a place where their healing can begin. 

In Christ,

Brooke Jevicks, VP of Advancement