Touring Surfside Recovery Services

I went to Ventnor City, NJ to tour Surfside Recovery Services. I had the opportunity to meet with Executive Director, Erick Giunta, Program Director, Kevin Loalbo, and Clinical Outreach Director, Jeremy Moskovitz, to get a deeper understanding of how they help young men in their structured sober living environment. Their clinical support is provided by Shorebreak Recovery in Somers Point, where clients start out with a PHP level of care. They offer life skills support, 12-step immersion, community service and many fun activities to develop new hobbies and passions, such as surfing, hiking, paint ball and many others. Clients have the opportunity to go back to school and apply for a job, while continuing with grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, budgeting, attending AA meetings and meeting with their sponsor. Surfside also has a beautiful house in Vermont for retreats and activities, like skiing and snowboarding. Many of the employees are former Surfside clients and all of the employees have a strong passion for the work they do. There were 8-10 professionals touring Surfside and they took us to a property where the clients do adventure therapy, such as paint ball and hiking, and group recreational therapy. We were led by Surfside staff in three recreational therapy activities, to experience what their clients experience on a weekly basis. In one activity, we had to pick something in the forest and explain how it is representative of how we are feeling at that moment. Then we had a trust building exercise, where we walked on a metal cable with the help of the staff and visiting professionals. I met so many great people where we all experienced a day in the life of a Surfside client. Here is a link to their website https://surfsiderecoveryservices.com.

Touring Turnbridge

I toured Turnbridge, which offers short-term and long-term residential treatment for adolescents and young adults who struggle with mental health and substance abuse disorders. I visited their Young Adult Men’s and Women’s homes in New Haven, CT and their Adolescent Female home in Killingworth, CT. They built a new home on the Killingworth campus, set to open next month, that will house 12 adolescent male beds. This was a great opportunity to learn and network with Turnbridge’s staff and mental health professionals from all over the country. I really enjoy getting out of the office and visiting programs and meeting providers; it’s a reminder of why I do what I do and I come back reinvigorated to help more families.