Teen Kicks Drugs, Finds Future

VILLAS – When Elvis Lynch was 10, he started smoking marijuana, “every day, every hour, every minute.” 
When he turned 11, he started “heavy drinking” on the weekends, swiping bottles of alcohol from store counters and hiding them inside a bulky coat.
Over time, he was selling marijuana “on the side” or stealing it from friends when he didn’t have the money to buy it.
At 17, he and his stepfather had a physical fight. The police were called. He was sober at the time, and while his parents did not press charges, the state did.
As he stood before the judge faced with three options, a drug-and-alcohol treatment program, probation or jail, he made a choice that set him up to enter the Job Corps July 11, where he’ll learn a trade and get a chance to go to college.
Thanks to the THRIVE Youth Treatment Program through Families Matter LLC, Bayshore Road, Lynch has been sober and clean for five months.
He graduated this June from Lower Cape May Regional High School with a 3.8 average and works in the deli department at a local grocery store.
Now, he is in Maine, where he is learning the carpentry trade, something he discovered he enjoyed when he attended a camp when he was 12.
Upon completion of the trade program, he’ll receive a grant to attend college, thanks to the help offered from his school’s guidance counselor.
“I’m going to college, thanks to the program,” the red-headed teen said excitedly. “I always said I was not changing. But I did change, and now look at this.”
THRIVE, (Teaching Holistic Recovery Integrating Values and Education), is a substance abuse and co-occurring mental health treatment after-school program for teens 13-18.
The program’s goal is simply stated, although much tougher to achieve: to grow or develop successfully; to flourish or succeed.
The THRIVE treatment program is offered at no cost to the family, and transportation is offered to and from the program for youth participants.
It is funded through Medicaid, state insurance monies and a South Jersey Initiative for Youth 13-24 with drug problems.
“The program uses a holistic approach and draws from evidence-based treatment practices such as cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing and contingency management,” according to a program description provided by Director Pat Campbell.
“It offers individualized, values-based, culturally-sensitive drug and alcohol counseling, family counseling and education,” according to the program description.
“THRIVE encourages peer support and mentoring, community engagement, vocational awareness, creative expression and encourages healthy lifestyle behaviors.”
When Lynch decided to enter the THRIVE program, he continued using synthetic marijuana because it was not detected by the weekly urine tests, he said. He was still drinking as well.
“I eventually realized I needed help,” Lynch said as he recalled starting the program. “At first, though, I was mad. I thought the program was a waste of time. I was not going to change for anyone. I didn’t want any help.”
His counselor, Ernesto Bailey, MS, licensed certified alcohol and drug counselor, recalled his first conversation with Lynch.
“I was driving him home, and he was my last stop,” he said. “We had just done our weekly drug test, and his was positive for morphine and oxycodone. I looked at him and said, ‘You’re 17, and you’re using heroin? What the heck are you doing?’
“He looked at me and said he wasn’t,” Bailey said. “I showed him the test results, and we figured that someone had laced his marijuana with heroin.
“They could have broken up a Percocet and put it into the pot.” (Percocet contains a combination of acetaminophen and oxycodone, an opioid pain medication.)
That first small conversation opened the way, however, for Lynch and Bailey to begin talking. “I started talking a little bit, and then a little bit more and opened up a little bit more in group therapy,” Lynch said.
About three months into the program, Bailey and Lynch had another conversation about where he was headed if he continued the drug and alcohol abuse. “We talked about how drugs can really mess up your life,” Lynch noted. “I knew I needed help.”
By that time he was ready to make some changes. “I am an achiever and didn’t want to fail,” Lynch said. “I set goals for myself and wanted to succeed.”
Lynch said he started using drugs and alcohol to “self-medicate” because of “things going on in my life. I was bullied in school and always fighting. I was angry with things that were going on in my life.”
Bailey said Lynch’s experience is “pretty typical” of a teen going through the program. “But he got ‘it’ faster, which is atypical,” the counselor noted. “You usually don’t see these changes in three to six months. But the progression with marijuana and alcohol and pills is pretty typical.”
Bailey and another counselor, Shannon Nardi, work with the teens in the THRIVE program. Lynch was part of the first class of participants, and there are six going through the program.
Most are court-referred. However, there is one teen in the program who was referred by a parent who needed help.
“I know now I can ask for help,” Lynch said. “I remember sharing experiences in group therapy. I opened up, and it felt good inside. I know now if I feel like I am going to relapse, it’s OK to ask for help.”
He also writes musical lyrics to express his feelings. Bailey said the counselors try to find what the teens’ interests are to encourage them to “feel good, express themselves and do something constructive.
“There’s a big drug epidemic in Cape May County, and across the country,” Bailey said. He noted that while he has lived in the county for 20 years, it wasn’t until he got into the drug counseling area five years ago that he realized the extent of it.
“Many parents and people are in denial, so a lot of what you hear is by word of mouth. Pop music glorifies drug use, dealers have lots of money and shiny cars, it’s the culture that we’re up against. Teens feel invincible.”
Lynch agreed, saying in his opinion, “Drug use is going up every year, especially with teens. People drink all the time. People on drugs want to try something different and experiment to get a bigger or better high. Then they end up overdosing.”
While Lynch is at his Job Corps training in Maine, he’ll be on a drug- and alcohol-free campus. He has to give up smoking cigarettes, and plans to do it “cold turkey because I know it’s not good for me.”
Job Corps is a no-cost education and career technical training program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor that helps young people ages 16 to 24 improve the quality of their lives through career, technical and academic training.
Also, Lynch and his stepfather are “getting closer. We can have a conversation now,” Lynch added, “and I help him out. I always thought he looked down at me and thought I wouldn’t amount to anything.
“I’m really excited about starting college and getting out there,” he added.
Anyone interested in further information about the services available can check the Families Matter LLC website at http://www.familiesmatternj.org.
To contact Karen Knight, email kknight@cmcherald.com.