Johnathon Geurino from the Insight teen treatment program spoke to Travis Sabadin and Detective Nash Barakat on the Insight Treatment Hour about Santa Clarita’s juvenile intervention team run by the Sheriff’s department.

The juvenile intervention team, better known as the J-team, started back in 1999 according to Travis Sabadin, an intervention specialist working for the J-team.

According to Sabadin, the J-team has expanded over the years to include adults as well.

“We have a three-pronged approach on the J-team,” Sabadin said, “intervention, education and enforcement.”

Sabadin and Nash discussed how law enforcement’s approach to teens involved with drugs and alcohol has changed over the years.

Related: Insight Teen Treatment Program On How Teens Can Establish A New Identity To Overcome Mental Health Issues

According to the J-team officials, the City of Santa Clarita has allowed the J-team to work with teens who have drug related citations to have a different course of action for their offences, many times without it showing up on a record that will make their life more difficult when they become adults.

The J-team, according to officials, uses its resources to help teens and their families in any way they can. This includes things like helping teens stay sober, treating teen mental health conditions, finding employment, transportation and more.

“You gotta kinda look at the community as like a wolf pack,” Guerino said, “when there’s a wounded wolf, right, we take that wounded wolf and put him in the middle. What we’re trying to do here is bridge that gap. We’re a community.”

“A big thing with an intervention, too, is having a support system,” said Nash.

According to the J-team officials, it is important to address the needs of whole families when they are working with a teen struggling with substance abuse. The people around them are their support system, officials from the J-team said, and it will take those people to help improve the outcome.

“Addiction is a family disease therefore recovery has to be a family affair,” Guerino said.

Detective Barakat said that the J-team has been holding virtual events named “Java With The J-team” that they use to help educate people about the drug, alcohol and mental health issues facing teens in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Ed. Note: This article is a KHTS Community Spotlight for Insight Treatment Programs in Santa Clarita.

Insight Treatment Programs is an outpatient treatment program for teens and their families. The program treats teen mental health issues and teen substance abuse. Mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, ADHD and more. Rehab services are also offered to help teens with drug and alcohol abuse issues. Insight Treatment Programs also offers academic services for teens who have had their school life affected by mental health and substance abuse issues.

Insight Treatment Programs

26330 Diamond Place, Suite 120/130,
Santa Clarita, CA 91350
(661) 765-8445

Insight Treatment Programs

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