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BAXTER
INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION AWARDS A $40,000
CHALLENGE GRANT TO LIFE-LINE
Grant to Help Youth Overcome Addiction and Behavioral Problems
NORTH SALT LAKE, Utah,
November 14, 2002 -- The Baxter International Foundation, the philanthropic
arm of Baxter International, Inc., has awarded a challenge grant to Life-Line,
an adolescent treatment center serving families in the Greater Salt Lake
area. The foundation will match contributions to the program, dollar-for-dollar,
up to $40,000.
More than 100,000
individuals in the state of Utah suffer from alcohol and drug addiction.
Of that number, almost 20,000 are under the age of 18. Life-Line helps
troubled youth overcome a variety of addictive behaviors, fosters stronger
family relationships and helps place youth on the road to a healthy and
productive life.
Vern Utley, executive
director of Life-Line, attributes the program's success to its unique
method of treatment in which kids further along in the program mentor
those just beginning, and parents help other parents as well. Parents
and siblings become aware of core issues from their own childhood and
have the opportunity to work through those issues with their child in
treatment. "Life-Line is a program for good kids who make bad choices,"
said Utley.
The Life-Line program
is divided into five phases and typically takes about 10 months to complete.
The first phase occurs during the first two months in the program. During
this phase, the youth spends six days a week, twelve hours a day, at the
Life-Line center, staying at a host home of an adolescent more advanced
in the program during the evenings and on Sundays. In the second phase,
the youth returns home and provides a host home for a youth in their first
phase. The final phases are spent preparing the youth to cope with the
challenges of returning to school and reentering society. As time at the
center is gradually reduced, the youth begin to learn how to face peer
pressure and to create safety within their lives by practicing the skills
they have learned in the program.
"Life-Line is
not just a recovery program, it is a family-focused recovery program where
the whole family can heal together," said Utley. "Parents and
siblings are required to attend meetings once a week involving all the
Life-Line families and participate in family therapy. This keeps everyone
focused on recovery, and seeing others who have dealt with similar problems
gives them hope."
The grant from The
Baxter International Foundation will support the Perpetual Assistance
Program, a fund that enables individuals and families with limited resources
to participate in the Life-Line program. The challenge grant could potentially
help ten to twenty more families access the program, which costs about
$80 a day.
When 20 year-old Holly
Johnson came into the program four years ago, she was a runaway who had
been living on and off the streets since she was thirteen. "Before
Life-Line, I had gone through other programs and always fell back into
my destructive behavior. The staff at Life-Line really taught me accountability
and how to be honest with myself. The program also helped me to realize
how committed my parents were to getting me healthy and to reconnect with
my family."
Holly now enjoys a
good relationship with her parents and her two sisters. A year after completing
the program, Holly returned to Life-Line as a staff member where she continues
to work helping other youth address some of the same challenges she once
did.
"We are pleased
to support Life-Line in their efforts to improve the lives of youth by
curbing the cycle of addiction and other self-destructive behaviors, and
helping them to forge stronger relationships with their family,"
said Pat Morgan, executive director of The Baxter International Foundation.
"Countless youth are leading healthy and productive lives today as
a result of Life-Line and we hope to help others do the same through the
support of this grant."
Life-Line, established
by a group of parents in 1990, currently has seventy-five Youth enrolled
in the program. Since its establishment, Life-Line has helped thousands
of adolescents overcome behavior and addiction problems, and placed them
on the road to a productive life. For more information on Life- Line or
to make a contribution that will be matched call (801) 936-4000.
As the philanthropic
arm of Baxter International Inc., The Baxter International Foundation
helps to increase access to health care in the United States and other
countries. In 2001, foundation grants totaling $4.8 million improved access
to care for children, the uninsured and the elderly, helped prevent child
abuse and neglect, promoted health education, expanded education opportunities
for health-care providers, and helped victims of global disasters.
Baxter International
Inc. is a global medical products and services company that, through its
subsidiaries, provides critical therapies for people with life-threatening
conditions. Baxter employs nearly 50 people in Utah at its facilities
in Ogden and Salt Lake.
FOR ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION:
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- Media Contacts:
- Tanya Tyska, Baxter, 847-948-3256
Vern Utley, Life-Line,
801-936-4000
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