“Teen Challenge Program” helps people overcome thier struggles

Sometimes life can get tough and that’s where the “Teen Challenge Program” comes into play. It’s a program dedicated to helping folks get back on their feet, and overcome their struggles.

The “Teen Challenge Program” started out as small residential program for men and women in Brooklyn, New York and has now expanded into a faith based residential rehab program with 1,100 centers in over 100 countries around the world.

Bob Carey is the executive director of the “Teen Challenge Program” in Seaford, Delaware and he’s no stranger to addiction. Two decades ago Carey became homeless dealing with alcoholism. After bouncing around several shelters he says he found the Teen Challenge. Carey now helps other men ages 18 and up get back on their feet and he couldn’t feel more proud.

47 ABC spoke with Carey and he says, “It was in a chapel of a Teen Challenge Center in 1993 that i had a radical life transformation. Since that time, I just want to give back what was given to me.”

On Friday in Seaford, program officials cut the ribbon on a new Mega Thrift Store. The teen challenge program doesn’t receive any federal, state, or local funding meaning they rely on other sources of income such as their thrift store, selling everything from furniture, home wear and even clothes.

The program is set up to keep the participants busy all throughout the day with various classes and community outreach projects. Stacey Johnson is a teacher and pastor at the teen challenge program. He says trying to get grown men to accept the situation is not always easy.

Johnson tells 47 ABC, “At first most of them come in kicking and screaming. They want help but they don’t know to turn to help and they come in and we change their world. They all want to leave for the first week or two but if they persevere and push through it then their really glad that they did.”