Duval schools partnering with Florida Recovery Schools to help students with substance abuse issues

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duval County high school students struggling with drug or alcohol problems can now get the help they need at school. Duval County Public Schools partnered with Florida Recovery Schools to offer a substance abuse recovery center, the first of its kind in Florida.

“I started taking anything that I could get my hands on,” said 16-year-old Mike, a Duval County high school student.

We’re not showing Mike's face because of his age. About two years ago, he said, he started experiencing panic attacks. They were so bad he couldn’t stay in school. The attacks led him to use marijuana, and then pills, which he said he abused.

“It would just completely numb me. I wouldn’t feel anything. I wouldn’t feel any pain, and more than anything it would just calm the chatter,” Mike said.

It still wasn’t enough.

“I just wanted more, because I didn’t want to feel the way I was,” Mike said.

He isn’t the only student struggling with an addiction. In a 2015 survey of 3,608 Duval County high school students, 30 percent said they used alcohol and 25 percent said they used marijuana on a regular basis.

“And we know that about 10 percent of the kids in high school meet the criteria for substance abuse disorder, which in Duval County would be about 3,000 students,” said Dan Renaud, executive director of Florida Recovery Schools.

Mike and others dealing with similar situations will have a place where they can work together. Florida Recovery Schools, a nonprofit organization, was given free space at St. Andrews Episcopal Church, where classes will be held.

Renaud said students will focus on academics, and at the same time, address their addiction.

“I don’t have to worry about temptation,” said Mike. “If you want help, you got to be the first one to reach out, because by the time your parents notice or friends notice, it may be too late."

But it’s not too late for Mike. He’s choosing another path, and has now been sober for a year and two months.

Cox Media Group