3/6/13 – Phoenix House

This morning we were picked up by Howard Meitner at 7.45am and having collected Lisa (a prospective board member) we drove up to Westchester to visit Phoenix House. Over the past few months Howard (who played rugby with Peter in HK) has been talking to us regarding the work his Phoenix House charity has been doing to support substance abusing youth reclaim, encourage and strengthen themselves and get back on track before it is too late for them (ie they are adults in the eyes of the law and they are ‘in the system’).

Their website tells me that ‘The Phoenix House Academy of Westchester’ is a residential substance abuse treatment program for adolescent males and females. The Academy provides an array of services including individual, group, and family counselling, along with evidence-based therapeutic interventions that address each client’s individual needs.

Teens at the Academy enjoy a rich campus life and attend an on-site high school (grades 9-12), operated by the NYC Department of Education (NYCDOE) District 79, where they can earn their diplomas or credits that can be transferred to their home schools. We also offer vocational curricula through NYCDOE Co-Op Tech - Carpentry and Electrical Installation training are offered on-site and students are provided with transportation to Co-Op Tech’s other vocational options in Manhattan’.

 

We were met by the manager of the facility, Jose Rosario, and after a short talk about the centre, he took us on a tour of the facilities. The huge complex is situated on a large parcel of land and has many buildings which the foundation is currently restoring and refurbishing. Originally the centre was a monastery and so all around us were reminders of times passed.

We saw the accommodation (previously quarters for the monks), sports facilities (the gym was in the old chapel) and the vegetable patch (that had recently been raided by local deer). We met Anda McGowan (the school principal) and other staff (the assistant principal and school doctor) who we could tell, even after a short conversation, were obviously committed to making a difference to the lives of these students. The two teachers who run the project design classes in wood and electrical were enthusiastic about their projects and the solar powered house the students had made in the basement of the school was simply amazing.

Next we met a few of the young men and women who were currently involved in the program. Each had a story to tell that involved difficult circumstances and bad choices. All but one (who had been self-admitted on the request of her mother), were committed by order of the state of New York for a variety of offences including discharging a weapon with intent to harm, burglary, assault and various drug offences. All had issues involving substance abuse. As part of the discussions it was revealed by two of the girls that they had been raped and two of them (one boy and one girl) had gang memberships.

Interestingly, I detected a distinct difference between the ‘clients’ as they spoke to us. And that difference was support. Some had role models and people who cared about them, others were cast adrift and left to make their own way and often in tough neighbourhoods. But for each of them, Phoenix House has served to keep them free of drugs and to help them find their gifts and build their self-esteem. Each of these young people, bar one, was able to discuss their short term goals and how they planned to achieve them.

I was particularly impressed by one young man (whose only carer was his brother, who was often not present as he was on duty overseas in the US Navy) as he walked me through the aspirations model that Phoenix House had developed and showed me ‘where he was at’. Apparently they come in as ‘eggs’, hatch to sparrows and evolve into hawks and then eagles.

Each of the levels has a list of characteristics to aspire to and they can move up the ladder if they have earned (through evidence of demonstrating the characteristics) enough ‘badges’ for promotion. During the car ride home Howard shared with us some confronting statistics and deep discussions about the realistic futures of these kids, and far too many others like them. Good luck Howard – you are doing great things and we hope to to be able to do something to assist your work in some way in the not too distant future.

 

After the tour we cleared our minds and freshened up our bodies with a work out at the Asphalt Green gym, and then met up with Howard again for dinner down at the Mercer Kitchen in Soho. The place had great decor, good service and sensational food. I had grilled fish and Peter had oysters and then a cheese and shaved truffle pizza – the smell was amazing and apparently it tasted even better! The wine from Sancerre made sure we slept well.