Like many Island teenagers, Hillary started hanging out with older kids in her freshman year at Vashon High School. They introduced her to the delights — and ultimately, for her, the devastation — of marijuana, which led to her to experiment with alcohol and pain killers.

Before long, she said in an interview, “my life spun out of control,” affecting her grades, her moods and her relationships with friends and family. After she was caught with drugs at school, she chose to attend a rehabilitation center.

Now, she’s looking forward to being part of a new weekly support group called “Get a (new) Life,” which will be a place for teens to “talk about the joys and challenges of living a ‘new’ life without mood-altering chemicals,” according to a brochure for the group. The group will be facilitated by Stephen Bogan, a nationally certified addiction counselor who recently started a private practice on Vashon.

“I’ve been involved in the Vashon Youth Council and Development of Island Teens and knew there was a need for such a group,” said Bogan, who manages the youth treatment services for the Washington Department of Social and Health Services in the division of alcohol and substance abuse. “Kids tell us that it’s all too easy to get drugs and alcohol on the Island — and that they perceive adults generally tolerate their using them.”

Hillary estimates that as many as 75 percent of Vashon High School seniors have smoked marijuana, and many use it regularly, she said. Generally, they use it at home or at various spots around the Island.

Occasionally, they take it to school, and some even sell it there, she said. Alcohol is not uncommon at some weekend parties, though in Hillary’s opinion its usage is not as common as marijuana.

According to Susan Hanson, the high school principal, if a student is caught using alcohol or drugs in school or at school-sponsored events, there’s an immediate 10-day suspension. It can be reduced to five days if the student agrees to terms suggested by a drug and alcohol counselor after submitting to an “assessment.” The school also calls the King County Sheriff to report the offense.

If a student is caught selling drugs, he or she is immediately expelled. (Parents can apply for re-admission, which is sometimes granted under certain agreements.)

In fact, the Healthy Youth Survey, a state-sponsored tool that anonymously surveys 10th and 12th graders to help communities make better policy decisions about conditions for youth, is said to show that a majority of Vashon kids don’t think it’s a big deal to drink or smoke pot, according to Sam Collins, director of Vashon Youth & Family Services, which is organizing and hosting the new support group.

“We see this as the first step toward getting affordable treatment programs for youth and adults on this Island,” Collins continued. “We’re blessed to have Stephen Bogan offering his services to us at a greatly reduced rate.”

The Island’s only certified addiction recovery service, A Change Counseling Services, just closed its doors after 16 months, according to Joe Thieme who was its clinical director.

“There’s too much stigma in a small town like Vashon,” he said. “People prefer to go off-Island for treatment.”

In the end, the Vashon clinic had only six clients, most of whom now go to the company’s other offices in Burien and Tacoma, he said.

“There’s a healthy community of people in recovery from alcohol and drugs on the Island, but they are low key,” said Thieme.

He has participated in a number of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings at Vashon Presbyterian Church, and “made so many close friends I’ll be coming back for meetings even if I don’t work here.”

Principal Hanson says there was an Alateen group (a teen version of AA) that met at the high school several years ago, but it wasn’t very successful.

“I’m excited that there’s a group targeted at young people trying to be healthy and safe outside the school grounds,” Hanson said. “One of the biggest challenges youth have, who are in recovery, is establishing a healthy lifestyle when much of their socializing has been around substance abuse.”

Hillary agreed. “When I was partying there was nothing else to do, because that’s all I cared about,” she recalled. “But now I know there are so many other options of very fun things to do. My life is so much better now.”

Acting, working, and going to events in Seattle give her great joy, less anxiety, she said, and she finds herself helping others more.

She looks forward to attending the “Get a Life” sessions, which Bogan called “an insight group, not a treatment group.” It’s not only for teens who are in recovery, but also for their allies and for those who are curious about taking healthier approaches to using substances.

Bogan knows what he’s talking about.

He got into recovery when he was 23, after “heavy drinking in high school and college, trouble with the law and a lot of misery,” he said. He and Hillary met at a “playback theater” presentation by Vashon’s Lighthouse Theatre recently where actors portray stories told by audience members. “She and I were getting a lot of the same jokes.”

An Islander for 16 years, Bogan has worked in the chemical recovery field for 31 years. Hillary said she thinks there may be a future for her in that field, too.

Group meets

The Get a (new) Life group will meet Tuesdays from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Vashon Youth and Family Services. The first meeting was Dec. 11.