Dynamite Youth Centers-Brooklyn NY: The Model for Teen Substance Abuse

Introduction

The issue of substance abuse has proved to be crucial in the modern day society. More youths have been influenced by substance abuse and it has become crucial that the war on drugs is further strengthened by placing more focus on the more concentrated areas that are the urban areas. The topic on the urban challenge in teen substance abuse is thus crucial due to the need of ensuring the safeguarding of teens in the society. The young population has always been depended upon for the creation and sustenance of a better future. Damaging the brains of teenagers now by exposing and allowing them to indulge in drugs would surely create a negative impact on the development of these individuals. Substance addiction has proved to be a hazard in the society such that there has been a growing tendency of more teens being addicted to various harmful substances that have created the habit of neglecting the responsibilities of teens. Substance abuse has caused the neglecting and the ignorance of the need for education as well as the need for self-conservation and self-growth. In the wake of high numbers of substance abusing teens, the crime rates on our streets have augmented due to the growth of local gangs and of ill-intended teen squads in the community. The purpose of this paper focuses on analyzing and assessing details of the model of Dynamite Youth centers (DYC) in Brooklyn New York as well as assessing the various writings concerning the urban challenge in teen substance abuse in the effort of understanding the various proceedings, importance, and challenges of rehabilitation centers.

Targeted groups

The main target group of the Dynamite youth centers (DYC) in Brooklyn New York is the adolescents. The centers serve almost all kinds of adolescents. The various groups of adolescents served include gays and lesbians, persons with HIV/Aids, pregnant and criminal justice personnel (Dynamic Youth Community, 2012). The various groups of adolescents mentioned portraying the willingness and the strategy of DYC to provide help to every member of the society despite the status or the type of the individual. The main aim of the strategy to target adolescents is based on the fact that the adolescents are regarded as the main conduit and the main assets to an improved future. The need to heal and polish teens are thus seen as a priority in the society and the Dynamite youth centers in Brooklyn New York seems to have identified such a need and therefore put forward measures and strategies to do so.

Targeting teenagers are also centered on the need to mitigate the health effects that are accompanied by substance abuse that includes emotional problems such as depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and schizophrenia. More crucial health issues that are a result of substance abuse include damage to the brain that causes learning problems that are associated with long term and short term memory loss as well as other complications such as brain shrinkage and amnesia. The impact of such mentioned health issues include inabilities to cope in academics, a higher chance of indulging in reckless sex that could cause an increase in the rate of HIV and Aids infection, as well as including social and economic impacts.

Challenges and barriers in tackling this issue

The issue of substance abuse on teenagers proves to have various challenges and barriers to the DYC in Brooklyn New York and to the general provision of rehabilitation services. The main challenges and barriers associated with the fight to rehabilitate substance abusing teens include the augmented penetration of internet and television that contribute to the expression of the use of drugs as an acceptable factor in the society (Muskett, 2014). Television channels and the production of videos through the World Wide Web that depict the use of drugs as ‘cool’ and acceptable have proved to contribute to the challenges and barriers faced in the fighting substance abuse in teens. Modern day television channels tend to showcase celebrities including famous musicians and movie stars indulging in substance abuse in such that the use of such drugs is made appealing to the eye of viewers that includes teenagers (Mojtabai et al, 2011).

At the same time, challenges and barriers associated with the functions of centers like DYC in Brooklyn New York, include the lack of sufficient funds or capital for the implementation of rehabilitation strategies and methods. Purchasing the necessary equipment as well as hiring various employees and staff member proves to be essential in tackling substance abuse among teens in which case, the inability to secure such facilities due to a lack of sufficient capital proves to be a great barrier to such tasks. While at the same time, other challenges and barriers associated to tackling substance abuse in teens include the easiness access to drugs as well as the rising neglecting of teens in the modern day (Brewer & Collins, 2014).

One would argue that the main reason behind the indulgence of drugs by teens is due to peer pressure. The aspect of peer pressure tends to be more effective in the event that teens are not properly counseled, advised and guided such that for most teens who have been neglected by their guardian or parents, the effects of peer pressure are most likely to take a tool in them as compared to teens that tend to receive good advice and guidelines every once and again from their loved ones including parents or guardians. Therefore an increase in the number of neglected teens in the society is directly related to an increase in the number of substance abusing teens in the society. The mentioned barriers and challenges have proved to be impediments to the fight by DYC as well as other centers and groups in the fight against substance abuse.

Literature Reviews

According to Smith & Estefan (2014), teens are most likely to indulge in drugs and be addicted to drugs while in their adulthood when they abuse substances in their teen years. The perception and reasoning mentioned here could be tied to the reasoning and the idea behind the strategy of DYC to offer assistance and services in the rehabilitation of substance abusing teens. In the wake of such facts regarding the future of substance abusing teens, the number of teens or those aged below 18 years involved in substance abuse comprises of over 3 percent of teens (Van Ouytsel, Walrave, Ponnet & Heirman, 2015). A survey conducted in the year 2006 in the united states of America relays that 16.2 million citizens of America that are aged 12 years or older have participated in some form of substance abuse that includes the use of non-prescribed drugs such as pain relievers, sedatives, stimulants and tranquilizers (Brook, Rifenbark, Boulton, Little & McDonald, 2015). The purpose for the consumption of unprescribed drugs has been claimed on the needs of stress relief, curiosity and peer pressure among teens.

As stated by Bohnert et al (2014) substance abuse means the un-prescribed or the excess use of various drugs that could include both hard drugs and other substances such as contemporary medicine. In the case of teens, substance abuse thus applies to the unnecessary use of various un-prescribed substances and the most commonly abused substances by teens are alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana (Brewer & Collins, 2014). Binge drinking by teens has thus become a major habit in schools including the participation of teens in the United States ranging from those in 8th to 12th-grade students (Mojtabai et al, 2011). As a result, the future of these teens could be in great jeopardy due to the effects of the use of drugs including alcohol on a developing brain. According to Keyes, Cerdá, Brady, Havens & Galea (2014), the brain of a teen is still developing and there is need to rehabilitate or salvage the brain and the general health of a teen who is involved in substance abuse due to the possibility of future complications that could include memory loss and the inability to concentrate which could therefore lead to a greater risk of the neglecting the various responsibilities in the current life and in future.

On the other hand, Volkow, Baler, Compton & Weiss (2014) claim that the fight on substance abuse on teens needs to be centered on the root cause of the problem. The root cause of the issue can be connected to the stimulating factors that lead teens to abuse substances and the major issue mentioned is the factor of peer pressure. There is, therefore, need to tackle the issue on peer pressure. At the same time, Nargiso, Ballard & Skeer (2015) also claim that rehabilitation centers need to take into consideration the cause of drug indulgence by teens. Rehabilitation centers thus apart from the contemporary strategies and processes of detoxification need to focus on making sure that when teens are discharged from the centers, they are also free of the real or the root cause of substance abuse (Muskett, 2014). As such, substance rehabilitation centers need to focus on more than just physical recovery but also mental recovery that includes personal meetings, counseling and sharing programs that will help determine the root cause of a certain addiction and in the process offer solutions to the root causes.

The aspect of peer pressure has been linked as the common cause for teen drug abuse but other factors such as depression and stress have not been provided the attention deserved in the fight against substance abuse (Smith & Estefan, 2014). In the modern day, teens have become more intelligent and therefore teens have more accurate and precise goals and needs now as compared to teens in the previous years. At the same time, more parents in the modern day are kept busy with the need to survive and the need to earn a living that they tend to unknowingly neglect some of the needs of their children. Such children who feel neglected and those who feel that their immediate and long-term goals are greatly hindered such that they have become impossibilities will tend to indulge more in drugs (Muskett, 2014). On the other hand, Brewer & Collins (2014) support the argument and claim that teens need to be provided with more attention if there is any chance of winning the war on drugs.

Potential Interventions

Potential interventions in the current case could include the introduction or the creation of a program that focuses on the root cause of the issue. The incorporation of such a program in the DYC will surely serve to tackle the issues of re-occurrence of substance abuse as well as help to provide back a sense of responsibility and a life for the affected (Muskett, 2014). The program in specific will entail the main purpose of realizing the root cause of substance abuse on each individual and attempting to tackle the issue such that the individual is completely freed from substance abuse. Initiating the program involves the hiring of professional psychologists that will play a major role in realizing the real root cause of substance abuse on individuals. There has to be an allocation of a special venue for one on one meetings among the psychologists and substance abusing individuals. These meetings have to happen more often for the realization of the true root cause of the problem.

In the described program, there needs to be time and opportunities for the study of behavior and character of the various individuals due to the need of realizing the tendencies of individuals. Realizing the character and tendencies of individuals helps in the rehabilitation of the individual and also in the offering of long-term solutions for individuals. At the same time, the program needs to incorporate external individuals and personnel and specifically family members of the individual or at least people who have lived with and know the individual well. Psychologists in the program will document the finding of each individual in an effort to cumulate information regarding an individual such that one can have a better understanding of the individual.

The program would also require the study of the past life and upbringing of the individual or simply the history of an individual in an effort to gain a clear understanding of the person (Bohnert et al, 2014). Teens in the modern day have been known to experience a higher degree of peer pressure as compared to life as a teen in the olden days and it is, therefore, necessary that special attention is given to teens. The described program will not only serve as a temporary solution but most importantly as a permanent solution to the issue of substance abuse by teens.

Policy Recommendations

The DYC in Brooklyn should also be viable for innovation including the need to amend some of its policies in an effort to offer more flexibility and more control to patients and their families. Such as in regards to the policies that govern patient record keeping. Records of former patients according to the center are treated as crucial and these records are kept for the future possibility of a return of a patient and also for research purposes. Patients and especially former patients who have already gone through the program need to be handed the chance for a new beginning and if a patient wishes not to have any records of them kept at the institution, such a wish should not be a plea but rather a demand (Mojtabai et al, 2011). Changing the center’s policies on record keeping to accommodating more patient control and power will surely go a long way to motivate former patients in the achievement of their objectives in their lives and careers.

At the same time, government policies such as the limitation of funding private rehabilitation institutions should be amended considering the fact that private institutions have proved to be fundamental in the war against drug abuse (Mojtabai et al, 2011). Therefore, governments should be more lenient and generous such that there should be a change in government policies to accommodate for the offering of more funding to private rehabilitation centers such as the DYC in Brooklyn.

Furthermore, the DYC in Brooklyn, as well as the general society, have been known to have strong stances and policies on the use of religion in augmenting the rehabilitation processes of youth. The moderation of such policies that enforce religion to youth individuals may prove to be fundamental in augmenting the rehabilitation processes of some persons. Individuals who are less religious or those who belong to other religions that are less commonly accepted and recognized may feel isolated and coerced into the system and processes due to such policies. Therefore lessening efforts on such policies and beliefs regarding the use of religion would go a long way towards the creation of a better future and a flexible rehabilitation process for youths.

Conclusions

The purpose of this article has focused on the issue of substance abuse among teens as well as focusing on the DYC in Brooklyn New York in an effort to understand the issues related to the rehabilitation of teen involved in substance abuse. As mentioned in this paper, youths in the modern-day tend to experience the highest levels of peer pressure as compared to youths in the previous times. The world has become more electronic and the penetration of the internet, as well as that of TV, has been a major issue that augments the usage of drugs and the abusing of substances by teens. Substance rehabilitation centers like the DYC need to develop and advance with changing times. There needs to be a better understanding of the conduct, behavior, and reasoning of the modern day youth in rehabilitation centers that will contribute to the already accumulated knowledge regarding substance abuse in teens that can be used now and in the future for a better chance to tackle the issue of substance abuse in teens. The DYC in Brooklyn New York also need to take into consideration the various recommendations that have been provided earlier for an augmented position in the fight against substance abuse in teens.

 

References

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