Avalonia
History Of Our Program
Avalonia’s doors opened in 1989. It first began as an 8-bed facility established in response to South Carolina Child Placing Agencies who expressed the need for a high management facility for the treatment of emotionally disturbed young men who were aggressively resistant to behavioral interventions. Since those early days, our program has expanded to become the largest and most reputable in the state. AGH now accepts out of state and private placements.
Our Crusade To Recover Youth
The name "AVALONIA" has its origins in
the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable. The area of
England where the Tales of Camelot take place was said to be in "Avalon."
In Camelot, Merlin the Wizard prophesies the young man who pulls the sword
Excalibur, from its stone scabbard, will be King. Arthur, indeed, pulled
the sword from the stone and went on to become King and to create the Knights
of the Roundtable. The Roundtable developed so that Knights might come together
as equals to agree on principles that formed the first laws of civilized
society. Knighthood encompassed chivalry, courtesy and honor and dictated
principles for accepted behaviors and consequences for unacceptable behaviors.
In some respects, it is a modern day Code Of Chivalry.
The Arthurian legend underlies the principles of Avalonia's therapeutic program and our crusade to accomplish our mission. Each young man is expected to look inward to discover those personal ideals, which form the basis of their relationship to society and family. And like Author, pull the sword from the stone to become leaders and masters of their destiny.
There Is An A.R.T. To Living
To accomplish our mission, we employ the principles of the "Avalonia Recovery Trifecta," which is a behavioral treatment model designed by our founder, Dr. M. J. Short. Unlike most treatment at the time, which involved the use of drugs to control behavior, Dr. Short proposed, to provide youth with more "functional tools", by teaching accountability, self respect, and self control. Through consistent implementation of this model youth would begin to demonstrate attitude, aptitude, for learning new skills, and begin to develop the internal controls necessary to prepare for recovery. Notably, this concept was no easy feat to implement considering that most youth served by Avalonia already experienced multiple out of home placements, with very little success.
From the start, Dr. Shorts’ model coupled with our staff’s dedication to "stick with" difficult and aggressive youth has proved remarkably successful in assisting young men in attaining a consistent level of conformity, compliance, and cooperation in preparation for transition back to less restrictive social settings.