New Chance Review
On Wyatt Earp Boulevard in Dodge City, Kansas, New Chance was founded 40 years ago as little more than a small house downtown where a man could stumble out of the Long Branch Saloon and land to sleep off his inebriation. Services are now housed in a dormitory-style facility that has capacity for 50 residents, regardless of how they arrive. Though the majority of New Chance clients come to the program by mandate (new prison release or via the court system), family interventions and self-presented clients from all social and economic strata also find help for their addictions here.
Accommodations and Food
Overnight programs out of the primary New Chance facility include the following treatment options: non-medical detox (five beds serve the old sleep-off function, though now with experienced supervision), residential treatment (30 beds) and reintegration (a maximum of 15 residents).
Housing is dormitory style in a single story building. Eight men share a room with communal bathrooms down the hall. There are common areas for socializing with Direct TV available in two viewing rooms. Movies and TV are available after 9 pm in a large, big-screen viewing room and in a smaller game room. Clients are allowed to use cell phones, within limits, but no other personal electronics are allowed.
Meals are planned by an on-staff dietician and served cafeteria style. Authentic Mexican cuisine is a specialty of the staff. With regards to outside snacks, vending machines are accessible on campus, but caffeine use is restricted to coffee/tea/soda (no energy drinks).
Tobacco use is allowed outside (no e-cigarettes).
Treatment and Staff
As mentioned, Second Chance offers a non-medical detoxification unit that is staffed 24 hours a day. If necessary, medical detox is available at local hospitals. Following detox, the residential program is structured around 28-day periods; treatment length is determined by continued assessment. Movement toward reintegration/halfway house activities and liberties is based on careful interview and evaluation of the resident’s progress.
Residential treatment emphasizes education about the disease of addiction. The 12-step model is a common methodology, but other approaches are also employed as judged appropriate by counseling staff. Reality Therapy is the most commonly used methodology. CBT is mandated by some sentencing guidelines; therefore, both individual and group therapy utilizing cognitive methodologies are available. The highly trained counseling staff employs a variety of these and other modalities, though dual diagnosis clients are not treated at New Chance—no psychiatric staff is employed.
The well-trained and experienced counseling staff is at the core of New Chance’s program. The number of clients at any given time is directly proportional to the number of experienced counselors available on the staff: therapist caseloads are maintained at a maximum of eight; three full-time experienced counselors are currently employed; a fourth full-time staff member leads the reintegration program.
The reintegration program provides 24-hour residential support following primary treatment. Local businesses partner with New Chance to provide employment to graduates. It is typical for those in reintegration to continue living at New Chance for two to three months, moving back into employment while maintaining the residential safety, motivation and direction provided by the reintegration counselor and other staff and residents. There are two additional houses in Dodge City (appropriately named “Gunsmoke” and “Boot Hill”); clients of New Chance have access to these houses as alternative or subsequent resources in the event that reintegration at the primary campus proves problematic. Outpatient treatment is also offered.
In the primary residential program, clients wake up at 6:30 am and days are structured until lights out at 11 pm, though the weekend schedule is more flexible. Typical days consist of time for completion of duties (chores), lectures, two primary group meetings, individual therapy, a variety of addiction education groups and free time. Clients are escorted off site for 12-step meetings and other activities.
Family Day is scheduled for every other Friday. New Chance also offers court ordered substance abuse evaluations and day-long alcohol education classes in both English and Spanish.
Extras
In addition to an on-site gym with free-weights and various donated equipment, the large campus allows outside enjoyment: a baseball diamond, outdoor basketball and volleyball courts, horseshoe pits, and trails for walking.
In Summary
Dedicated to providing a nurturing, compassionate, and thriving environment, New Chance offers its clients ease for their turmoil through addiction education, sound treatment and a solid local recovery community. Providing managed transitional living and employment opportunities and extensive aftercare means the men who graduate are truly getting a new chance at a sober life.
New Chance, Inc. Location
2500 East Wyatt Earp Blvd
Dodge City, KS 67801
New Chance, Inc. Cost
$3,500 (30 days, inpatient); $45 (per session, outpatient). Reach New Chance, Inc. by phone at (620) 225-0476 or by email at newchance@newchance.org. Find New Chance, Inc. on LinkedIn
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Sponsored DISCLAIMER: This is a paid advertisement for California Behavioral Health, LLC, a CA licensed substance abuse treatment provider and not a service provided by The Fix. Calls to this number are answered by CBH, free and without obligation to the consumer. No one who answers the call receives a fee based upon the consumer’s choice to enter treatment. For additional info on other treatment providers and options visit www.samhsa.gov.
