Lexington Rotary Learns About Adult Teen Challenge Program

Article by W. Clay Crook-

The program for the December 8, 2020 Lexington Rotary Club meeting was on the local Adult Teen Challenge program. The speakers were Penny Hemby, Chris Dangler, and Dylan Stanfill. This is a faith-based program was started in 2004 with five people. Several other similar programs had not been a success, but Teen Challenge has been a long-term success in the community.

“I want to tell you how God has blessed us in Teen Challenge,” said Penny Hemby. Penny is on the board in Savannah, which is a surrounding county that participates in the organization. Lisa Brown in Henderson County is the director.

Teen Challenge is six month program that helps to transition into participants into a church and into a rehabilitation center if needed. The group also offers drug testing in order to help encourage participants to stay clean. There are separate classes for men and women, and are held on Monday and Thursday nights.

Part of the education program includes anger management and also awareness of how drugs impact the nuclear family. “Many addicts say that they are only hurting themselves, and these activities help to show them how everyone in the family is affected by drug use,” she said. As for anger, the program helps to teach them how to let it go or to channel it into positive ways. “With one instance of anger, they can lose the trust that they have built.”

Learning about relapse, and how to aware of and avoid those setbacks and disappointment and stepping into fresh starts, freedom, and restoring families are an important center of the program.

Teen Challenge also sponsors a jail program, which has been handicapped due to COVID-19 visitation restrictions, “but I write them to let them know just how…

For complete coverage, see the December 9^th edition of The Lexington Progress.

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