Vanguard tackles drugs with D.C. aid

Christine Carrillo

After receiving a federal contract worth nearly $100,000 from the federal government, the university put the money to use by holding

the first in a series of abuse conferences on Wednesday.

The contract is the first partnership the federal government’s

Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration has made with a

private Christian university to assess the effectiveness of Teen

Challenge, a worldwide organization that takes a faith-based approach

to rehabilitating drug users and others struggling with

life-controlling problems.

“Our relationship is seamless because we share the same values and

see that the problems aren’t just physical,” said Maximo Rossi, the

provost and vice president of academic affairs for the university.

“We need to address the physical, but also need to approach things

from a spiritual side. In that sense, [the partnership with Teen

Challenge] is a perfect fit.”

The conference, coordinated by members of Vanguard University’s

Institute for Leadership Studies, incorporated the efforts of school

officials and USC officials from the Institute for Prevention

Research at the Keck School of Medicine and the Center for Civic

Religion and Culture.

“We’ve partnered with major research groups for nearly four

years,” said Marty Harris, the associate provost for Vanguard and the

project director for the contract that they’ve been working toward

for more than three years. “Vanguard is at the vanguard in this area

of research and [the university is working] at finding cutting-edge

strategies for faith-based programs.”

The conference touched on how to quantify data involving the

effects of how a faith-based approach aids recovery, the roles of

family, faith and behavior in substance abuse and how to implement

technology and the imaging of the brain when dealing with these

issues.

“I think this is terrific and I was really impressed,” said Costa

Mesa Councilman Chris Steel, who attended the conference. “Their

approach is faith-based and focuses on moral principles, which is

very important.

I think we’re very fortunate to have Vanguard here,” Steel said.

“With everything they’ve done for the community and their type of

approach, I think it says a lot for Vanguard and Costa Mesa.”

The university hopes that the conference will serve as a step

toward formulizing research for faith-based programs such as Teen

Challenge that will aid individuals struggling with life-controlling

problems.

“We welcome further study and we think it will even help to

replicate our program and allow us to share with others exactly what

happens with the process,” said Dennis Griffith, executive director

for Teen Challenge of Southern California. “This will bring some real

validity to the success of Teen Challenge. It will be great for us to

know which parts of our program work best and what practices are most

effective.”

If Vanguard and the other institutions continue to generate ideas,

the government will continue to provide the university with funds,

Rossi said.

“We’ve had so much conversation and so much information come from

these people, and one thing has really been clear -- we need to bring

education to those affected by drug abuse,” he said. “We need to

treat both the physical and the spiritual, and this grant is the

beginning.”

* CHRISTINE CARRILLO covers education and may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at christine.carrillo@latimes.com.