A family treatment room at the Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (CADA) Santa Barbara Daniel Bryant Youth & Family Center will be dedicated to the late Tom Sneddon, former Santa Barbara district attorney, 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 10 at the center, 1111 Garden St.
Event speakers will include Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley and former Santa Barbara County Sheriff Jim Thomas.
A number of Sneddon’s relatives will attend, including his son Russell, whose Family Foundation recently made a significant donation to the Daniel Bryant Youth & Family Center in Tom Sneddon’s honor.
“The Daniel Bryant Youth & Family Center was something our dad cared passionately about and one of many organizations he helped support throughout his life. We are so grateful to have this room dedicated to him and to continue to honor his legacy of helping others,” Russell Sneddon said.
The center was founded in 2001 to provide safe and effective outpatient treatment and other services for Santa Barbara County youth (ages 10-19) struggling with substance abuse and co-occurring mental health disorders.
Over the years, it has served more than 7,500 local youth and families. Two additional Daniel Bryant Youth & Family Centers in Santa Maria and Lompoc serve clients throughout North County.
Sneddon was an avid supporter of the Daniel Bryant Center, joining the 2000 Summit for Danny International Hike in the Canadian Arctic, which helped fund the center’s opening the following year.
Sneddon was also a proponent of CADA’s Teen Court Program, a juvenile diversion program established in 1993 by a superior court judge as a rehabilitative alternative to the traditional juvenile justice system.
Ed Cue, director of Teen Court, remembers Sneddon as “instrumental in pressing Teen Court to succeed.” Today, Teen Court is a model for similar programs around the country.
Michelle Kerwood, director of CADA’s Child and Adolescent Treatment Programs, said she is pleased to have a room dedicated specifically to family therapy.
“Inclusion of family in the treatment of youth is an integral part of successful substance abuse treatment,” she said. “We are very proud to offer Multidimensional Family Therapy [MDFT], regarded nationally as the gold standard for adolescent substance abuse treatment.”
CADA is the only nonprofit agency in Santa Barbara offering this treatment.
Since 1949, CADA has delivered programs and services focused on educating, preventing, and treating substance abuse and co-occurring conditions affecting youth, adults, and families in Santa Barbara County.
The agency works with local schools, law enforcement, health care groups, businesses, and other nonprofits. CADA services are available to anyone impacted by alcohol, drugs, and/or mental health concerns, without regard to gender, gender preference, age, race, ethnicity, or national origin.
For more, visit www.cadasb.org.