20 Sep Stop Calling Them At-Risk Youth

By Tina Miller, Founder and Executive Director of Florida Recovery Schools of Tampa Bay, Inc.

September is National Recovery Month, and we’re thrilled to spotlight the incredible work being done with youth in recovery!

Victory High School is the first Recovery High School in Tampa Bay for ages 14-19 seeking recovery from substance use disorders or co-occurring disorders. Every youth has the opportunity to be successful. Here, students can earn their diploma away from the pressures and temptations of traditional high school.

We believe that recovery is a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live self-directed lives and strive to reach their full potential. While sobriety is a physical state of being, recovery is a way of life. Our goal is to guide all students through the progress of their early recovery.

Please stop calling our students at-risk youth.

At-risk indicates doom and gloom that allows the darkness to overcome the light; it is giving permission to the overwhelming regret and shame of the past to dictate their future. We do not consider our students at-risk. At-risk of what? Success? Healthy lives? Graduating? Being substance free? Sober? Restoring relationships?

Opportunities are endless for our students. And we consider them Opportunity Youth at our nonprofit private school.

The last year or so has been incredibly stressful for everyone, but our students have had a safe place to thrive during a global pandemic.

They show us each day that they are unique, innovative, creative, intelligent problem-solvers and brilliant-minded human beings who deserve encouragement, positivity and success; they deserve second and third chances. They deserve a safe, healing-centered educational environment with trauma-responsive services so they feel like they belong, are supported and are loved unconditionally.

Opportunity youth have hope. Their lives are a blank slate; they get a new start each day at our school. Victory High School customizes curriculum to fulfill each students’ mandatory requirements to graduate with a diploma. They receive mental health services through individual and group therapy as well as recovery support daily. Our priority is to keep our students alive, stabilize them emotionally and mentally—and then educate them.

Victory High School offers a private school education with specialized instruction in a small classroom. Our students bloom under one-on-one attention from empathetic professionals who celebrate recovery from substances, too. Participation in our school is voluntary, and students can stay in the school for as long as they want.

We offer a multifaceted array of in-person classes ranging from Expressive Art Therapy, Yoga, Nutrition, Visual Arts, Drumming, Fitness, Leadership, Equine Therapy, Meditation, Boxing and Culinary Studies. Our students receive a well-rounded and unique educational experience with the support they need to be successful substance-free.

If you’d like to support these Opportunity Youth, you’re invited to our annual fundraiser, “The Art of Redemption,” on Saturday, October 23, 2021 from 6-9 p.m. at Banquet Masters in Clearwater. We will celebrate Victory High School students’ masterpieces and hear their stories of redemption as well as experience live art demonstrations from Kyu Yamamoto and Audrey Jennifer; their pieces and artwork from 10 other artists in Tampa Bay—including Jason Skeldon and Matt Kress—will be auctioned off,  with 100 percent of proceeds benefitting Victory High School students. All donations are tax-deductible, and your dollar saves the lives of our Opportunity Youth.

Visit www.artofredemption.com to reserve your seat today!

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