CHN joins Reality Tour at the County Jail

Click candle for more information about the Reality Tour. This concept originated in Butler, Pennsylvania and is spreading to different locations.

CHN volunteered at the Reality Tour last night from 6:00 t0 9:30 PM.

This eye-opening public service includes a walk though parts of the Allegheny County Jail.

Five youth and three parents attended. At the end, two of our CHN shared about their experience with drugs and out-of-home placement. They also answered many questions from the group.

Doctor Bernacki is shown here with our club members. He and his wife manage the Pittsburgh Reality Tour.

The sights and smells of the jail make it a scary place. We see real people in the intake department waiting to be processed. Sometime the prisoners approach the glass window and bang on it demanding attention from our group walking by. Some of them look horrible, perhaps in withdrawal from drugs or alcohol- or perhaps still intoxicated.

This picture captures the hazy quality outside the jail. It is as though we are about to enter the Twilight Zone.

Our two speakers at the end. One of our speakers not only shared his painful experience with drugs, but he reached out to parents in the group- telling them that by having him arrested and sent away- his mother probably saved his life. Since his mother was in the group- she received a big ovation from the audience. After the presentation, Doctor Bernacki invited her to speak next month along with her son. She has gladly accepted the invitation.

This is a role-play about an overdose in a hospital ER. The parents flip out when they learn that their son is dead. Next, we are taken to a closed casket funeral role-play where the same parents mourn the loss of their son. Usually, inmates from the County Jail speak to the tour group at the end, but last night the speakers were from CHN. This tour does some excellent prevention and education for younger youth, especially ages 10 through 16. For more info about the Reality Tour click here

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Gateway Breakfast with Legislators

Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbet served as Keynote speaker for "A Breakfast with Legislators," held Friday, September 14 from 8 a.m. -10 a.m. at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott. This is a picture of the Attorney General with four of our club.

This is the same four with Probation Officer Lloyd Woodward.

This is two of ours with two Gateway Yes people, which served as a reunion.

Click here for more information about this meeting.


Type rest of the post here

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Thanks Steelers for a memorable night!

In spite of several last minute cancellations CHN used all 20 tickets. We got together for sober-fun tailgating before the game. Thanks to one of the parents who got a spot for us early we enjoyed hot dogs, hamburgers, and deserts and a little football throwing. Then we enjoyed a terric game with excellent seats. And of course, we enjoyed each other's company! More pictures of the game later!

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Coffee House Nation Teen volunteers at Abraxas on 8-24-07.

This Coffee House Nation teenager accompanied me to Abraxas and helped interview four residents. He told the teens about his life since he left Abraxas in November of 2006.

Brent has turned his life around. He is very committed to his 12-step program. Brent told the teens at Abraxas that when he was sitting where they are sitting, he was not ready to change. For example , he called old friends on his home pass when he knew that was the wrong thing to do. Teens sometimes will listen to other teens who have been though it and know what they are talking about.

Brent also represents hope. He likes his life now. He likes his job. He recently got a very nice apartment. He works out. He has friends. He enjoys his 12-step activities. He has people in his life that really care about him. He tells the teens that he had no clue back then of how wonderful life could be without drugs.

Brent was also able to reconnect with staff that he had worked closely with at Abraxas. He helps the Abraxas Staff (and this Probation Officer) by coming back to Abraxas to show them that their caring and hard work paid off. He inspires the Abraxas staff to continue to give their job 100 percent effort because sometimes it matters. Sometimes people really do change their lives.

And finally, Brent was able to help himself. "If you really want to learn something, teach it to someone else." (not sure who said that- someone with wisdom no doubt ;-)

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IT'S STEELER TIME!

The Steeler organization has donated 20 pre-season Steeler Tickets for this Sunday- August 26th! This happened though a new Advisory Board Member's contacts. The board hasn't even met yet and already something close to a miracle has happened! UPDATE: We have all 20 ticktes spoken for. PLAN: Meet any time after 3:00 PM outside the main gate, which is A Gate. Call Lloyd's cell at 412-861-6757. Some one will meet you there. Two of us will park at the stadium and with the help of a parent volunteer we will have hamburgers, hotdogs, fruit salad, chips, pop football and frisbee. We will gather for some light festivities before the game and maybe throw a football or frisbee.



Call Lloyd ASAP (412-861-6757) if you can go. These tickets will not last. The game is at 8:00 PM this Sunday night and we will be meeting around 7:00 PM. Not sure where we are meeting yet. Stay tuned to this blog for more information.

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Four seats for A Breakfast with Legislators at the Marriott!

September 14th, a Friday, Gateway is hoasting a Breakfast with Legislators held at the Marriott (airport). It is from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM. I can take three clubmembers.

It is not the kind of thing teens usually do, but then again, it is a chance to be exposed to politics, listen to our congressman, and eat breakfast at the Marrriott. I have had interest expressed by several so let me know for sure if you are in on this one by leaving a comment or by calling me at 412-861-6757.

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Thanks DJ Zimmie and WYEP!

Great workshop! For two hours DJ Zimmie and Stephen from WYEP answered questions and showed each participant how to mix two songs together! Stephen Bontrager from WYEP was a great hoast and made us feel very welcome.


WYEP is providing a great resource to the community. They have a group of teens that meet every wednesday from 3:00 to 5:00 PM in a Journalism class. Stephen offered to have any of our club members who are interested join WYEP's ongoing "FreeZone" workshops for high school students. The FreeZone workshops usually focus on journalism.

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