About
About Motivating Youth Recovery
Motivating Youth Recovery (MYR) is a specialty adolescent residential substance use treatment program operated by Community Healthlink (CHL) at 26 Queen Street, 5th Floor, in Worcester, Massachusetts. Community Healthlink is a member of UMass Memorial Health — the largest not-for-profit health care system in Central Massachusetts — and a clinical partner of the UMass Chan Medical School, giving MYR clients access to academic medical center resources unusual at the adolescent residential level of care. CHL holds the highest three-year accreditation from CARF.
MYR’s clinical model treats adolescents whose substance use is interwoven with trauma, mental health conditions, and family system disruption. Care is delivered in a residential milieu specifically for youth, with cognitive behavioral therapy, trauma-informed care, family therapy, group counseling, and motivational enhancement forming the core therapeutic toolkit. Because adolescents present differently than adults — shorter substance use histories, more environmental factors, active developmental processes — the program is designed to address school engagement, family dynamics, and identity formation alongside the substance use itself.
SAMHSA records confirm services for adolescents with trauma and PTSD and American Sign Language access for Deaf and hard-of-hearing youth — a rare access feature at the adolescent residential level. The program is SAMHSA-certified as an Opioid Treatment Program, authorizing medication-assisted treatment for youth with opioid use disorder when clinically indicated. Services are delivered in English.
MYR accepts Medicaid (MassHealth), private insurance, TRICARE, state insurance, and self-pay. Community Healthlink’s broader system includes 24/7 crisis services, outpatient counseling, transitional support services, and recovery housing, allowing youth to step down from MYR into longer-term outpatient and community supports through CHL’s continuum. Leadership at the parent CHL level includes Gordon Benson (President), Brian Daly, MD (Chief Medical Officer), and Lori Simkowitz-Lavigne, MA, LMHC (Chief Clinical Officer).
- Specialized 12-bed medical detox facility exclusively for adolescents requiring withdrawal management
- CARF accreditation with Opioid Treatment Program certification for adolescent substance use treatment
- Chief Medical Officer oversight ensuring medically supervised detox protocols for teens
- Specialized services for deaf and hard of hearing adolescents during detox process
- Integrated approach combining medical detox with residential treatment for comprehensive withdrawal management