The mission of Lansing Teen Challenge is to provide youth, adults and families with an effective and comprehensive Christian faith-based solution to life-controlling drug and alcohol problems in order to become productive members of society. By applying biblical principles, Lansing Teen Challenge endeavors to help people become mentally sound, emotionally balanced, socially adjusted, physically well and spiritually alive.

Description:
Lansing Teen Challenge ("LTC") is a non-profit, 501(c)(3), faith-based Christian discipleship and educational organization dedicated to helping people overcome life-controlling problems including, but not limited to, substance abuse, alcoholism, pornography addiction, gambling addiction, domestic violence/abuse, and co-dependence with all of their attendant manifestations.

LTC provides a rigorous bible-based 13-month residential program to adult men who are serious about changing their lives and who will take the actions required to obtain a lasting victory over the problems that previously held them in bondage.

LTC's subsidiary ministry Sisters Maternity Center ("Sisters") provides the same intense program customized to meet the needs of adult pregnant women with similar life-controlling problems. Our Sisters program, the first of its kind in the nation, offers a safe, nurturing environment where pregnant women can receive a top-notch education and be transformed into strong, independent, faith-filled mothers.

The women attending Sisters receive access to full medical care, physicians, and medical facilities, the logistics and transportation of which is coordinated by the center; access to all maternal support systems available in the community including, but not limited to, prenatal and post-partum care, lactation specialists, doula and midwife assistance; education in the areas of life-skills, parenting skills, child care, nutrition, and domestic skills, all of which are designed to provide technical training and boost self-esteem; and one-on-one counseling with discreet professionals regarding the experiences that brought them to us, including any childhood wounds due to abuse/neglect and the resulting manifestations in their adult lives.

By operating a maternity center, we foster and strengthen the natural bonding process between mother and child – a factor which contributes heavily to the overall success of both mother and child. Our pregnant students immediately begin receiving hands-on parenting experience by assisting the senior students with their babies under the direct supervision of our caring staff. This process of teaching each other allows the women to learn parenting skills in a non-threatening environment and fosters camaraderie among the women.

History:
Teen Challenge (“TC”) was founded in 1958 by Rev. David Wilkerson as a means of reaching teenage gang members in Brooklyn, New York. Soon thereafter, the organization began dealing with substance abuse problems in these youths. Over time, TC spread throughout the nation and world helping both youth and adults.

Lansing Teen Challenge was chartered in 1987 and originally had one small facility that served a handful of adult males. In 1998, Rev. Jeff Turner was appointed as Executive Director, marking the beginning of what was to become a period of unprecedented expansion. That same year, LTC acquired the Sisters Crisis Pregnancy Center, merged it into the LTC family as the Sisters Maternity Center, and has since helped up to 16 women and newborn babies at a time.

In 2004, LTC moved into its current men’s center with city approval to house up to 40 men. In Spring 2006, operating at maximum capacity, LTC sought and received city approval to increase this number from 40 to 64. Within a few short months, the men’s center filled to the new capacity.

We are now engaged in an enormous organizational restructuring process. In September 2006, our women’s center was invited to relocate to a larger facility on a church campus, allowing us to increase the program from serving 16 to 26 women and babies. Our men's center continues to run at maximum capacity, and is actively seeking relocation to a facility that could accommodate more residents.

We know that our mission is vital to saving lives of those most in need in our society, and we firmly believe our success in this endeavor will allow us to more effectively help these men, women, and children.

Contact people:

Jarrod Barron, Development Director And General Counsel, (phone), (email) Rich Waidelich, Administrator, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (517) 484-2662

Address:

P.O. Box 80435 Lansing, MI 48908

Web Site: http://www.lansingteenchallenge.com

Directions:

Our administrative office is located at 510 West Willow Street at the corner of N. Chestnut.   Nearest Bus Stop: 3, 0 minute walk