BACK TO HOMEPAGE

Arapahoe House provides a range of substance abuse services on-site in several middle and high schools throughout the metropolitan Denver area.  Services include; assessment, referral, education groups, prevention classes, and individual counseling for students, as well as in-service training for the staff of these schools.  Some services are accessible through the comprehensive Denver School-Based Health Centers, with which Arapahoe House has been partnered since 1989. Whether located in these health centers or in other school facilities, these programs offer cost-effective delivery of services to students with minimal access barriers.

Denver High Schools

• North High School
• West High School
• Emily Griffith Opportunity School
• Denver School of the ARTS

Admission Criteria

To participate in the school-based program, adolescent must:

• be a registered student of the school in which they are to receive services
• be between the ages of 12 to 21;
• have a substance abuse problem causing social, educational or behavioral problems; and
• be willing to attend treatment.

Hours

School-based programs operate on a school schedule with some services available to students and parents after school.

Teen Statistics Prevalence Rates

National data from the Monitoring the Future Study (2004) show some alarming statistics related to adolescent substance use with 21.5% of all 8th graders surveyed having tried an illicit drug and numbers jumping to 39.8% for 10th graders and 51.1% for all 12th graders surveyed. Furthermore, 43.9% of all 8th graders reported any use of alcohol with 19.9% reporting having been drunk, jumping to 76.8% reporting any use and 60.3% reporting having been drunk for 12th graders.

Colorado statistics are slightly higher than national, especially related to alcohol and marijuana use. According to the Colorado Department of Health and Environment, Results from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2003 show that in CO:

• 80.1% of students 12-17 years old had ever consumed one or more drinks of alcohol
• 48.4% currently use alcohol (>1 or more drinks in the past 30 days)
• 29.1% of students report binge drinking (5 or more drinks on one or more occasions in the past 30 days)
• 48% had ever used marijuana (>1 or more time in the past 30 days)
• 25.4% were currently using marijuana
• 13.1% ever used cocaine
• 7.4% were currently using cocaine (>1 or more time in the past 30 days)

Even though laws exist that prohibit selling of alcoholic beverages to minors, alcohol is the number one drug of choice for adolescents in Colorado. It is readily available, inexpensive and often marketed to younger age groups. Abuse of alcohol is frequently a precursor to the use and abuse of illegal substances. Recently problems associated with binge drinking on college campuses havve been brought to the attention of the nation with five confirmed deaths from alcohol poisoning in Colorado (Patterns and Trends in Drug Abuse: Denver and Colorado, January 2005).

SAMHSA's Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) indicates that of Colorado's 59, 184 substance abuse treatment admissions in 2003, children aged 12-17 comprised 42.4% of those whose primary substance was marijuana, 12.5% of those who chose hallucinogens, 6.4% of those who combined alcohol with a secondary drug, and 4.1% of those who chose alcohol.

Teen Drinking Drug Use Screener

1. Do you require [a drink / drug] use in the morning?
2. Do you prefer (or like) to use alone?
3. Do you lose time from school due to using?
4. Is your using harming your family in any way?
5. Do you crave use at a definite time daily?
6. Do you get the inner shakes unless you continue using?
7. Has using made you irritable?
8. Does using make you careless of your family or friend's welfare?
9. Have you thought less of your girl/boy friend since using?
10. Has using changed your personality?
11. Does using cause you bodily hurt?
12. Does using cause you to have difficulty sleeping?
13. Has using made you more impulsive?
14. Have you less self-control since using?
15. Has your initiative decreased since using?
16. Has your ambition decreased since using?
17. Do you use to be more comfortable around new friends (in shy timid, self-conscious individuals)?
18. Do you use for self-encouragement or to relieve marked feelings of inadequacy? (in persons with feelings of inferiority)
19. Has your sexual potency suffered since using?
20. Do you show marked dislike and hatreds since using?
21. Has your jealousy, in general, increased since using?
22. Do you show marked moodiness as a result of using?
23. Has your efficiency decreased since using?
24. Are you harder to get along with since using?
25. Do you turn to an inferior environment since using? 26. Is using endangering your health?
26. Is using affecting your peace of mind?
27. Is using clouding your reputation?
28. Have you ever had a complete loss of memory while, or after using? Blackouts?

Answering YES might indicate a need for help!

For more information please contact our Information and Access Team, at (303) 657-3700 OR (303) 412-3695. Phone lines are open Monday through Saturday between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. or e-mail at info@ahinc.org.