Recovering teens 'connect over something healthy'
In the recovery community where he gets help battling addiction, Ethan Werner stands out.
He's 18, and being a teenager is not the norm among the participants in the West suburban Alcoholics Anonymous meetings he attends.
"I usually will walk into a meeting and I'm the youngest person in the room," Werner said. "It's weird when you first go."
Yet the Naperville teen finds the support of the 12-step program vital to his recovery from heroin and alcohol.
"It's amazing. You walk in and everyone's happy that you're there," he said. "It's like a place I've never seen before. I've got these old farts who treat me like their grandkid. It's just a place of genuine love and compassion."
Justin Wolfe, one of Werner's therapists at Linden Oaks Behavioral Health in Naperville, wants other teens to be able to find the "genuine love and compassion" Werner speaks of - but among people their own age.
As an early step toward establishing a recovery group for teens and young adults in the suburbs, Wolfe is planning the first Adolescent Recovery Day, set for 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, April 21.
The event focuses on healthy activities teens can engage in without drugs or alcohol - and without their old friends from their days of drinking and getting high. Music, soccer, dodgeball, dance, flag football, expressive therapy through art and free food are all on the docket for the free event at Naperville Yard Sports Complex, 1607 Legacy Circle, Naperville.
"These are things you can do to rebuild yourself back up after the choices and behaviors you were engaging in before tore you down," Wolfe said.
He's sharing that message with participants in Linden Oaks' dual-diagnosis program for youth addiction and mental health counseling, as he recruits them to the event.
"Connect over something that's healthy and positive and not focus on just drugs," he said.
In more than five years counseling youths at Linden Oaks, Wolfe said he's learned they often feel alone as they begin to kick their substance abusing habits and enter sobriety. Many of their peers haven't been through addiction and don't know what it's like to turn down temptation and start anew.
"A lot of them feel lonely and disconnected," Wolfe said. "That's always the big thing that sets people up to return to those bad behaviors."
He hopes youths in recovery will form the basis of friendships when they come together for sports and food at the Adolescent Recovery Day. Giving people ages 14 to 20 the chance to meet others in recovery could be a benefit to their drug-free journeys.
"This is a way to help foster that community," Wolfe said.
During counseling sessions at Linden Oaks, therapists like Wolfe encourage their young participants to get connected with a 12-step recovery community, like Werner has.
"Having that push to go to meetings has been really helpful," he said.
The "push" from his counselors has helped Werner adjust to being the youngest in the room.
"I have gotten comfortable with just being around people that aren't my age," he said. "I've definitely found refuge in people who are older than me."
After being a "heroin guy" in high school, continuing to use despite an early failed attempt at treatment and getting clean during a stay at a residential facility in Minnesota, Werner said he is now approaching his one-year mark of sobriety.
He and two other former participants in the dual-diagnosis program at Linden Oaks will share their journeys at the event. The idea is to inspire others newer to sobriety to keep on the clean path.
"A big part of me staying sober is passing along to others what's been given to me," Werner said. "My sponsor took time out of his life to help me get sober, and that's what I want to do for others."
If you go
What: Adolescent Recovery Day
When: 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, April 21
Where: Naperville Yard Sports Complex, 1607 Legacy Circle, Naperville
Cost: Free
Info: adolescentrecoveryday.eventbrite.com
If you go
What: Adolescent Recovery Day
When: 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, April 21
Where: Naperville Yard Sports Complex, 1607 Legacy Circle, Naperville
Who: For teens and young adults ages 14 to 20 who are in recovery from drugs and/or alcohol
Cost: Free
Info: <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/adolescent-recovery-day-tickets-41502008625">adolescentrecoveryday.eventbrite.com</a>