SAN ANTONIO – The most recent state data from Texas Health and Human Services shows kids as young as 10 years old are already experimenting with drugs, nicotine and alcohol.
In New Braunfels, one local nonprofit is trying to meet those teens and their families where they are — and do it without costing them a dime. But one mother says stigma is still keeping too many families from walking through the door.
For Nancy, it all started with her daughter’s friends.
“She got introduced to vaping and got addicted to THC,” Nancy said. She asked that we not show her face or use her full identity to protect her teen. “She was really good at hiding it… And she knew that using drugs was wrong.”
Two and a half years ago, Nancy says she walked into Recovery Werks in New Braunfels feeling embarrassed and alone.
“There is a stigma involved,” she said. “I know the very first time I came into this building I was like running from the parking line into the building because I didn’t want anybody to know that I was here and because of the stigma. But don’t [be] afraid to ask for help.”
Nancy’s daughter is now one of Recovery Werks’ success stories — not only maintaining her recovery, but coming back to help other teens who are facing the same struggles.
Recovery Werks operates as a 12-step program specifically geared toward adolescents and their families.
Program Director Zach Saunders estimates that about 90 percent of the kids he encounters in Comal County have already been caught with drugs or alcohol at least once.
Recovery Werks opened its doors ten years ago with just 20 families — parents who wanted real support close to home. Since then, the demand has grown dramatically. The nonprofit shared the number of people it has served over the past decade:
- 2016 – 20
- 2017 – 40
- 2018 – 110
- 2019 – 340
- 2020 – 450
- 2021 – 150
- 2022 – 490
- 2023 – 573
- 2024 – 404
- 2025 – 362
Last year alone, Recovery Werks served 362 people.
Until now, donors have shouldered the cost of services — including coaching, counseling, parent support groups, retreats and sober social activities — so that families don’t receive a bill.
“I think the average family probably [would find it] difficult,” Nancy said, noting how expensive it would be to pay out of pocket for the number of hours families spend in recovery. “For the amount of hours that they spend in recovery, that would be very expensive.”
This February, Comal County’s juvenile probation and court systems became official partners with Recovery Werks for the first time, helping cover referrals into the program.
“We realized that there’s [a] need for an intensive outpatient program for the population that we serve,” Saunders said. “And who better to provide it than us?”
Recovery Werks says it is one of the only programs in Comal County offering this level of teen-focused recovery support. That makes the new partnership a significant step for families who can’t afford private treatment — and a potential lifeline for kids who are starting to experiment with substances at younger and younger ages.