Here's Help Inc. is a fully accredited, private, nonprofit rehabilitation agency that was founded in 1968 as a socially acceptable drug-free haven for teenagers, offering outpatient services at a north campus and a south campus, offering outpatient treatment for those 13 and older.
The north campus also provides residential treatment for adults and juveniles aged 13-30.Those needing help to get into the programs should call the admissions department, 305-685-8201, ext. 225, for the north campus or 305-238-8500 for the south campus.They may also log on to www.hereshelpinc.com.David Merida stood behind a grill in 90-degree weather, smiling.
As a line of people formed in front of him, Merida flipped each hamburger carefully, taking pride in what he was doing.
Merida, 25, who spent two years fighting drug addiction, including two stays at the Here's Help substance-abuse treatment center in Miami Gardens. For him, a passion for cooking serves as motivation to stay clean.
He was among hundreds of volunteers who turned out for the seventh annual Comcast Cares Day in South Florida on May 3, when the cable television giant joined with the Builders Association of South Florida and the residents to spruce up the grounds of the Here's Help North Campus, at 15100 NW 27th Ave.
Merida checked into Here's Help last December for the second time, after a relapse, and graduated on April 18, confident that he can now stay on the right path. Between his enrollment at Lindsey Hopkins Technical Education Center studying the culinary arts and a new job at a Red Lobster restaurant, Merida is satisfied he has taken giant steps of late.
''I had made some mistakes in my life, but, with the help of the counselors and the staff here, I realized that there is a way out if you seek help. Since I have been out, I've been doing really well,'' he said. ``I have been attending meetings on a daily basis, calling my sponsors, and I just got a job. I just want to keep myself busy and keep doing the right thing.''
For him, helping to beautify the grounds of the agency that has helped him straighten out his life was being busy and doing the right thing. He joined the volunteers who spent the day giving the building a complete face-lift, including a thorough paint job, fixing the volleyball and basketball courts, planting flowers and pouring concrete walk ways.
Here's Help began in 1969 in Miami Gardens and a campus was started a few years later at 9016 SW 152nd in South Miami-Dade. Both campuses offer out-patient services to people of all ages, with the combined daily case load amounting to about 200.
The north campus, since 1974, has also provided a six-month residential component for teenagers to young adults that offers a job, computer training, vocational training or an opportunity to return to school to study for a high school diploma -- in addition to substance abuse and family counseling and medical and dental care. It currently has about 50 residents.
According to Here's Help president/CEO John ''Footy'' Kross, about $500,000 has to be raised annually to keep Here's Help running. Steve Safron, the north campus' chief administrative officer, said the Department of Children and Families provides about $2 million annually through the South Florida Provider Coalition.
Kross, who works closely with residents on a daily basis, said the Comcast Cares Day gave a needed upgrade to the facility.
''They painted the whole place in half a day -- and you have to understand that the better and brighter services we provide, the better and brighter our kids are going to do. What Comcast is doing here is showing them that people care. Their enthusiasm is rubbing off on everybody else and it is just an all around positive, helpful and productive experience,'' Koss said.
Robert Duffy, BASF vice president, said the effort was a special one.
''It is a worthy cause by any means and we are out here doing our sweat equity and showing that the builders association, the builders in this community, care about our kids and our future,'' Duffy said.
``This is one of the ones that are close to our heart because it directly affects kids in one way or the other. You come out here and you see a fresh coat of paint and the bricks on the ground and it looks like a brand new facility for the guys that live here everyday. I am overwhelmed by how many people are here.''
Comcast Cares Day is a national effort in which volunteers around the nation work in 500 community projects. In seven years, the number of volunteers has ballooned from 6,000 to well over 50,000, which Dave Watson, executive vice president, credits to the company's community partners.
''Now we are more focused, we are more organized and we are involved with partners like Here's Help and the National Urban League,'' Watson said. ``The more we collaborate, the better the results are because they help point towards the communities and organizations that really need the help. This a special day for Comcast. It is a way to give back and stay connected to the community and it is, maybe, the best day that we do all year long.''
David Henry, a 14-year-old volunteer, had no regrets about spending his Saturday helping out.
''I came here because I wanted to help out the community. This place needed help and that is what we are here for. It changed a lot and it looks a lot neater and more organized,'' he said.
