- Teen Challenge of Southern California is a faith-based one year program that helps people overcome addiction. The Kern County chapter has a food stand at the county fair where proceeds from the stand go back to benefit the organization.
- In this video, we get a glimpse into how Teen Challenge helps people and meet a recent graduate of the program, Kristen Rose.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Addiction touches all corners of Kern County, but did you know that right in your own backyard there's a free chapter of a national program, Teen Challenge, which helps Kern residents year after year overcome their struggles.
“Kern County Teen Challenge is a one-year residential inpatient program for men and women 18 years and older who are struggling with a life controlling addiction. It's absolutely free to walk through these doors,” said Amanda Lejeck, the Kern County chapter's admissions coordinator.
The organization is a faith based one-year program that helps people overcome addiction. Students of the program start in Kern County before finishing the program elsewhere in California.
Kristen Rose recently graduated from the program and is volunteering at the organization’s food stand at the Kern County Fair and says Teen Challenge changed her life.
I got to that breaking point of just being done. I was getting in trouble all the time. I was, you know, homeless at one point and just little by little, I was just falling apart and, you know, and a woman just came into my path and, you know, told me about the lord," said Rose. "I just wanted to better myself and do something different. I have kids, you know, and a husband and I just — I didn't want to keep doing the same, same thing I was doing before."
While there are several different options for food when it comes to the Kern County Fair this year, proceeds from each sale of food at the Teen Challenge booth will go directly to help Kern County residents who are working to better themselves.
"We're on the main street and it's exciting. We have some of our students back there right now helping prepare the meals and everything that we do raises funds for the Kern County— so we have the men's campus and the women's campus," said Lejeck. "People are coming up talking about how Teen Challenge has helped save their son, their daughter, their granddaughter, and loved ones. Even people are coming to our booth and asking, "How can I get someone that's out there in their addiction into the program?" So we're out here raising funds, but we're also out here giving hope."
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