The St. Paul Police Department referred "Mariana," a fourteen-year-old Hispanic female, to Diversion because she was caught drinking alcohol.  In order to avoid a court appearance and a juvenile record, Mariana and her father agreed to participate in the program: coming in for a meeting with us, attending an educational workshop, and having Mariana complete community service hours.

During the intake meeting with Mariana and her father, we talked in detail about her offense.  It became evident that Mariana's choices were causing problems at home, at school, and with her mental and physical health.  Her parents had recently gotten divorced; her dad described the divorce as bitter and particularly difficult for Mariana.  She started hanging out with the neighborhood gang members, although she had not yet been "invited" to join their gang.  Mariana explained that the divorce really bothered her and that she felt resentment towards her father, so she drank alcohol and smoked pot as a way to escape.  She was getting high at least three times per day, including before school.  Not surprisingly, her grades and attendance suffered, which led to further problems at home.

At the intake, Mariana completed a questionnaire about her experiences with chemicals to determine the extent and severity of her usage.  She was assigned to the chemical awareness group so that she and her father could learn more about the legal consequences and negative health effects of using alcohol and other drugs.  At group, she listened to two teenaged guest speakers talk about their struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, how they were able to overcome it, and how their lives have changed and improved since getting sober.  Mariana left the group feeling that recovery is possible, but that she might not be able to do it alone.  She promised to enter a treatment program.

We kept in touch with Mariana and her dad for several months after she successfully completed Diversion.  Mariana completed an inpatient chemical dependency treatment program.  After she was discharged, we encouraged Mariana and her father to apply for enrollment at an area high school for teens recovering from addiction.  She is currently enrolled at this school, earning "As" and "Bs" and maintaining near perfect attendance. Mariana has not touched drugs or alcohol since entering treatment and no longer associates with neighborhood gang members; nor has she gotten in trouble with the law.  She goes to weekly twelve-step meetings and attends family counseling with both of her parents to work through some unresolved issues from their divorce.  Mariana indicated that her relationship with her father has improved.  Most encouraging, Mariana says that she's happier and healthier since she made the choice to not use drugs and alcohol.

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