FAITH-BASED RECOVERY GROUP OFFERS HELPING HANDS

Teen Challenge helps the total person, according to the B.C. Teen
Challenge website.

And the group is about to help the whole community, in just one
weekend.

B.C. Teen Challenge (BCTC) has been a big part of the Langley Good
Times Cruise-In for four years.

Its students and staff pick up garbage, run errands, and host a booth
near Langley City Hall, with information about their program.

"We're at the disposal of the Cruise-In executive," explained
executive director Brian Pierson.

He said the volunteers have a lot of fun helping at the
Cruise-In.

"We're there and we're laughing," he said.

The BCTC volunteers work throughout the weekend, starting as early as
3 a.m. on Saturday morning.

The event provides an opportunity to put into practice things BCTC
students have learned.

"They practise kindness and servanthood," said Pierson. "Right from
the get go, they learn to serve."

"'Once an addict, always an addict?'" Pierson turned the derogatory
saw into a rhetorical question, answering himself: "Not true. You look
around and see these people helping out in Langley, and you tell me
that. It ain't true."

Pierson listed a couple of the reasons why helping at the Cruise-In is
particularly meaningful to the students.

"Some of them have committed crimes here, and they want to give back
to the community," he said, adding, "And everybody loves cars."

BCTC helps people 19 years and older recover from addiction by
teaching them a new way of life. A faith-based program, it focuses on
helping people become holistically well, covering social, emotional,
physical, mental, and spiritual aspects with its year-long program.

"They need hope," said Pierson. "The root of the addiction is that
they have a problem with no hope. We provide them with hope and a
brand new community that loves and accepts them."

Teen Challenge, a worldwide organization. There is an initial $500 fee
for students, but the rest of the $25,000 per student per year is
covered by donations.

While the program is faith-based, it accepts people from all
backgrounds.

"Addiction is no respecter of persons," said Pierson, explaining that
the program attracts everyone from professional athletes and corporate
business people to people from the downtown east end.

"We have people come in desperate to get off drugs, but they leave
with a purpose and a mission in life," noted Pierson. "We introduce
them to a master who gives them life, and if you don't want to believe
that, well, the proof's in the pudding: there are guys who have done
nasty things, and now you'd let them babysit your infant."

BCTC is near graduating its 100th participant since 2000, and has a
success rate better than 80 per cent. It is regarded as one of the
most successful drug rehabilitation programs in the world.

Its three residential treatment facilities in B.C. are located in
Chilliwack and the Okanagan (men's), with a women's centre in
Abbotsford and a head office in Cloverdale.

Teen Challenge started in New York City in 1958 and celebrated its
50th anniversary this year. It expanded into Vancouver in 1965.

There are 600 centres in 88 countries around the world. Call
1-888-575-3930 or visit bcteenchallenge.com.