David Wilkerson-Founded Organization Launches Groundbreaking Program

Pennsylvania Adult & Teen Challenge, an addiction treatment and recovery facility in Rehrersburg, Berks County, launched a new program at its facility to expand its detoxification program to women. This women’s detox program expands its corporate vision of Bringing Wholeness to the Hopeless.

“This expansion effort comes amid a national epidemic. The women’s detox program addresses two organizational initiatives: increased capacity to serve women and treatment that helps patients with withdrawal management,” said Kris McFadden, Sr., president & CEO of Pennsylvania Adult & Teen Challenge.

“Addiction among women is a growing health concern, and we have had an overwhelmingly positive response from the community and local churches to expand our capacity and services for women,” said McFadden.

This expansion of detox services dramatically increases treatment options of substance abuse services that Pennsylvania Adult & Teen Challenge provides to women in need of treatment. Additionally, the treatment facility also offers several other affordable options for families seeking treatment for a loved one suffering from addiction issues. Pennsylvania Adult & Teen Challenge provides highly specialized services by offering a medically monitored inpatient detoxification program, an inpatient treatment program for short-term rehabilitation, an outpatient treatment program and a long-term residential faith-centered program.

“We are currently underserving women, and this new detox program is creating more opportunities to provide more care to more female patients, and making a significant impact on their lives. Our goal is to help women find freedom from addiction so they can return to their communities whole and live more productive lives,” said Becci Shaak, executive vice president of operations at Pennsylvania Adult & Teen Challenge. “We are also proud to have recently obtained our 3-year CARF accreditation for our Opioid Treatment Program, which adds more diverse treatment options within the state of Pennsylvania.”

The medically monitored women’s detox unit employees specialty-trained, certified medical professionals overseeing all aspects of the withdrawal management process. Michael Fanjoy, vice president of programming, “The withdrawal management program offers the latest in medical research and counseling techniques for the treatment of substance use disorder and is the first step in bringing wholeness to individuals and families.”

Pennsylvania Adult & Teen Challenge understands that addiction does not discriminate and we are in the midst of a crisis impacting every demographic in American society. The opioid crisis has been declared a national emergency and this new programming initiative will help Pennsylvanians on a local level to further combat the epidemic. In 2017, an estimate of over 5,400 Pennsylvanians died from overdose deaths.

Pennsylvania Adult & Teen Challenge was the first Teen Challenge program to open a male detox program in the United States—now once again sets the pace by opening the first women’s detox program in the history of Teen Challenge nationally. The facility accepts several insurance options and offers financial assistance to people who cannot afford treatment.

David Wilkerson founded Teen Challenge in 1958.

In June of 1962, the journey of prayer and searching for a training center location drew to a close when Wilkerson returned from a speaking engagement in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. A farmer had approached him after the meeting and offered to sell him a farm with 16 acres of land. Full of joy and excitement, Rev. Wilkerson returned home with the news. A few weeks later, the search ended with a trip to a farm in rural in Rehrersburg, Pennsylvania. To this day, that farm, known to many as “God’s Mountain” is the location of the AATC Training Center.