Adolescent Treatment and Healing Center Near Completion
Story by Jim Mendoza/Hawaii News Now
For 16 years, advocates have been pushing for a residential drug treatment facility on Kauai geared toward adolescents. Thanks to the efforts of Theresa Koki and others, it's close to becoming a reality.
“It’s very much-needed for youth before they become adults that are still using substances,” said Koki, coordinator for Life’s Choices Kauai. Koki said the relatively isolated location answered the objections of Kauai residents who didn’t want a drug treatment facility in their neighborhood.
Builders from Layton Construction Company are busy putting the finishing touches on the Adolescent Treatment and Healing Center on the outskirts of Lihue.
The 16,000-square-foot residential treatment complex sits on five acres of former sugar cane land that was donated by Grove Farm. “We were just blessed that Grove Farm had this idea that we come up here, which is close enough to the hospitals and neighboring communities but set back a little further in more of a quiet area,” Koki said.
The center has enough live-in space for 16 adolescents at a time. There’s an outpatient wing, classrooms for parents to participate in their child’s rehabilitation, and a certified kitchen.
