Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is a sponsor and what are all these terms I hear in meetings?
A sponsor is an individual who mentors a person through recovery. Both young people and parents in AIR are expected to ask someone (usually someone else in the group) to sponsor them. To be eligible to sponsor someone, a person must have completed the Fifth step in the twelve-step program. The sponsor guides the sponsee through the twelve-step process and provides support when the sponsee needs advice or is going through a crisis.
2. How long does it take to successfully complete the AIR program?
Successful completion of the AIR program is dependant on the level of honesty and willingness displayed by the identified client and/or family. The minimum time it takes to successfully complete the program is 18 months. However, clients have been here as long as four years before successful completion of the program.
3. What are the requirements for awakening/graduation from the AIR program?
The minimum criteria for graduation:
- Must have at least 18 months sober
- Must be a full-time student or gainfully employed
- If candidate is in high school then s/he must have passed all classes for the last three grade periods.
- If candidate is a full-time college student then s/he must have past a full load of classes with Cs or better (full-time classes is a minimum of 12 hours).
- The candidate may be part-time school and part-time work, but must work a minimum of 20 hours a week and pass both classes with Cs or better for at least one semester before awakening.
- All gainfully employed candidates must have worked a minimum of 40 hours a week of work and paying bills on their own for at least 90 days prior to awakening.
- Must have established a home group in a 12-step group like AA, SLAA, OA or an appropriate version for the person's primary addiction in order to awaken. This home group must have been attended every week for 90 days prior to awakening. Also candidate must attend a minimum of 3 outside meetings a week in this 90 day duration.
- Has completed at least one round of 12-steps
- Has established stable family relationships
- Must not be resentful at KCS and/or AIR
- Must have attended 6 awakening meetings prior to the ceremony
- Must have had an appointment with primary counselor two weeks prior to awakening for final decision to be made with counselor approval.
4. How long does outpatient take to complete?
Again this is dependent on the willingness of the client to participate and meet treatment planning goals and expectations. Clients have completed outpatient in a short as two months while other have stayed in outpatient for much longer.
5. Why is your program not like other outpatient programs that take insurance and are completed in 21-28 days?
We do not believe in the "quick fix" and are committed to the long term process of recovery with clients. Much work can be done in 28 days if a person is willing but sustainable recovery is built steadily over time. Because we do not deal insurance companies directly they do not dictate when a person has completed treatment. AIR will work with clients to provide the appropriate documentation for clients to file for re-imbursement with their insurance companies.
6. Why are parents of minors required to "get a sponsor" and "work a program"?
As stated in the AIR core beliefs and in the AA big book we believe that a person can get well regardless of anyone. However, we also believe that the increased likelihood of success depends on the family choosing to own their part in the family disease. This means parents getting a sponsor and working a program by going to meetings, working the steps from an al-anon perspective, and finding support from the parent group.
7. What is held at the KCS/AIR offices and what is held at St. Peter's Church?
All counseling is held at the KCS/AIR offices. All support group/discussion meetings for parents and kids are held at St. Peter's Church.
8. Parking and location of meetings at the church?
Please see the Where We Meet page of the AIR website.
9. What is the difference between Climbers, Thursday night and Saturday morning meetings?
The Climbers Meeting is a dynamic parent psycho-educational group led by the clinical staff of KCS. It covers various topics such as communication, boundaries, understanding addiction, the 12 steps, and much more. On the other hand the Thursday and Saturday morning meetings, while they are just as important as Climbers, are AIR parent led discussion groups that work to help parents build partnerships with other people in the AIR program and continue to gain insight into their own lives. Both components are essential parts to the support services that AIR and KCS provide.
10. What happens at the young people's meetings? Who facilitates those?
The young people's discussion meetings on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings are run much like the parent discussion meetings. A young person leads the meeting with a topic and then the group shares on the said topic. Often times these meetings are split between guys and girls and sometimes into other variations of small groups depending on the size of the meeting and the topic being discussed. These meetings are overseen by Mariana Curry. She also facilitates the Satellite program and weekend functions.
11. What is Satellite? Where is it? What do they do there? Who facilitates it?
Satellite is an after-school tutoring and mentoring program that provides a safe haven for young people to connect with one another, have fun, and get caught up with their school assignments. The youth at the Satellite engage in outdoor physical activities, as well as, indoor games and movies. They discuss issues they are dealing with the facilitator and their peers. Furthermore, youth are assisted in study groups 3 out of the 5 days Satellite is open. The Satellite hours are from 2:30-6:30 on Monday-Friday. It is held at St. Peter's church at the back of the lot in the Paul and Mary T-buildings. Satellite is facilitated by Mariana Curry.
12. What happens at the Friday and Saturday night functions? Are they supervised?
Friday and Saturday night functions are facilitated from 7:30pm-11:30pm by AIR staff. They are designed to provide a safe and fun environment for the young people in AIR to hang out with one another. The functions are an important piece of the support services because weekends are often vulnerable times for young people who are just getting sober. They are used to going to parties and acting out but now they are being shown new ways to have fun, stay sober, and connect with others.