Group tries to help young people
By Cari Gilkison, Special to the Globe
July 22, 1993
Many people may not know this, but there is a meeting for teenagers in recovery from various problems, every Thursday night. These meetings began on June 4. They meet every Thursday night at The First United Methodist from seven until eight.
“Teenagers in Recovery is a meeting for young people who have a desire to recover from chemical dependency, no matter what side of the fence they are on,” Paul Dennis, founder, explains.
Dennis is recovering from alcohol abuse himself and has been involved with AA for nearly two years.
“I saw a great need for recovery meetings for young people. I guess in starting one it has helped my own recovery,” he says.
Dennis supervises the meetings along with Debbie Napier, but the teens run the open discussions. It is a combination of AA and Ala-Teen.
Chairman Vickie Davis, who is sixteen years old, saw the same need as Paul Dennis, so she became involved. “As chairman of Teenagers in Recovery, I hope to bring more teens that are in need of support to this group,” she stated.
It has been this kind of support that has made this group possible. “I wouldn’t have been able to do this without the help of higher power and lot of friends,” Dennis admits.
“After I came up with the idea, I went over to Galion and witnessed a Teenagers in Recovery meeting there. Then I thought it would be great to hold a similar meeting here in Shelby. I had Pastor (Lyle) Hinkle bring in front of the board of trustees. It was approved, so it became official.”
Though official, it still remains unknown to the people who might gain something from it. This article was written in the hopes to reach these people in the community. Only a few people attend now, but there it is there for anyone who needs the support, or a place to talk. There are no fees or obligations.
The next meeting is tonight at the First United Method Church beginning at 7pm.
carilynn27 