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Restored Teen Challenge Thrift Store celebrated their Grand Opening by inviting the city of Haltom City and the Northeast Tarrant Chamber to help commemorate the occasion with a ribbon cutting. A great crowd turned out for the ribbon cutting! Several presentations were made by the Chamber, Haltom City Mayor Richard Hutchison and Amber Ray, District Director for State Representative Stephanie Klick. Haltom City Mayor Richard Hutchison proclaims the thrift store open for business. Priscilla Garcia of Unity One and Chamber Presdient Jack Bradshaw made presentations. Amber Ray, District 91 Representative for Stephanie Klick also made a special presentation. See all the ribbon cutting photos HERE! Come visit the thrift store at: Restored Teen Challenge Thrift Store 5138 Belknap Haltom City, TX 76117 The new thrift store supports the Adult and Teen Challenge of Texas, an organization that recognizes that we have a problem that affects all of us – According to the Adult and Teen Challenge website, in Texas alone, there are nearly 1.5 million people over 17 living with alcohol or illicit drug dependency or abuse. When arrested, the cost per offender of jail/prison averages $29,000/year in Texas – we pay that through our taxes. Their lost wages cost our economy an average of $45,000 (men) and $35,000 (women) in Texas. Our whole community is impacted from drug use, especially via crime and broken families. The common treatment method: • 30 to 90 days in an inpatient facility • Average cost: $7,000 / month • 28% success rate after 5 years from completing an inpatient facility The Teen Challenge Solution: • 13 to 15 months in a voluntary residential program • Average cost: $1,500 / month • 86% success rate after 5 years from graduating a Teen Challenge program History: In 1958, a young pastor from a farm town in Pennsylvania took a step of faith into the inner-city of New York City. David Wilkerson started a movement that would change the lives of thousands. With a heart for young people, he began working with gangs and troubled youth. As he began to establish rapport within the city, he became aware of the life-controlling issues destroying these young people. Everywhere David turned he saw the consequences of addiction: a 16 year old girl working the streets, a 12 year old boy murdered by his younger brother, the sight of a teenage mother with her baby on her lap, begging for food and shelter. The young pastor found himself in a place with no hope and no future: these children had been set up for failure. He knew he had to break the vicious cycle. He had to offer a way out of their trouble and despair. Later that year, the first Teen Challenge Center was established in New York City working with inner-city youth wanting a life free of gangs and drugs. Since 1958, Teen Challenge has seen remarkable growth. Thousands of lives have been changed in over 200 centers throughout the United States. One thousand campuses are now operating in 90 countries. In 1963, David Wilkerson co-authored the book, The Cross and the Switchblade. The story continues to inspire renewed faith in God’s ability to overcome problems that even the most determined human efforts cannot resolve. Teen Challenge came to Texas in 1968, with the opening of the San Antonio campus, then called the Westwood Center. Teen Challenge of Texas now operates six campuses in Texas in the San Antonio, Houston, and Fort Worth areas. In January, 2013 Teen Challenge of Texas opened its first transitional living campus in Brenham, Texas for re-entry and restoration students. In May 2013 a new Women & Children’s program was opened on the Houston Women’s campus in Pasadena. Teen Challenge of Texas continues to grow and reach more people with life-controlling addictions. tctexas.org