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Vanguard Services Unlimited

Vanguard Services Unlimited has served the Arlington community since the early 1960s by providing substance abuse treatment and recovery services for those members of the community who are most in need. Incorporated in 1964, the agency has grown from a small, volunteer-run operation to a much larger, comprehensive agency while maintaining its Arlington roots. Originally serving indigent, alcoholic men as Alcoholic Rehabilitation Incorporated (ARI), the agency changed its name to Vanguard Services Unlimited in the late 1980s, and its clients have changed as demographic shifts in Arlington have occurred. Vanguard now offers six distinct programs (The Phoenix Program, Demeter House, Deep Run Lodge, Demeter Northwest, Independence House and Re-entry). These programs serve clients across the lifespan, from infants and children in the Demeter programs to adolescents at Deep Run, to adult men and women in Phoenix, Demeter, Independence House and Re-Entry.

Vanguard is pleased to announce a new program - the Adolescent Recovery Center(ARC). ARC is an intensive outpatient substance abuse treatment program for adolescents. The Center is located at 2924 Columbia Pike, Arlington, Va 22204. Call (703) 920-1440 for information.

Mission
Vanguard's mission statement reads as follows: Vanguard Services Unlimited, a non-profit, community-based organization, offers quality treatment to individuals and their families who are suffering from the effects of substance abuse. With over 30 years of dedicated service to people regardless of their economic status, Vanguard seeks to help our clients become healthy, productive, self-sufficient citizens. Committed professional staff, Board members, and volunteers provide excellence in service to those in need.

Organization
The agency is guided by a Board of Directors, chaired by Patricia E. O'Connor, Ph.D., a professor in the English Department at Georgetown University. The twelve-member Board, which includes President/CEO Deborah L. Volz, R.N., C.D., interacts with the Vanguard Health Group Board of Directors, as well as the Board of Directors of the Vanguard Foundation in keeping with the agency's activities consistent with its mission and in overseeing staff and financial stability. A ten-member corporate staff serves the agency's programs, each of which is headed by a Program Director who participates on the overall agency management team.

The Vanguard Health Group, chaired by Michael C. Jacobs, Jr. (USAF-Ret.), a Northern Virginia mortgage broker, provides overall support and strategic planning for the agency, and the Vanguard Foundation, chaired by David W. Roberts, a Vice-President at SAIC, conducts fundraising and public relations efforts for the agency.

Goals
Current activities focus on addressing the needs of people who are in need of professional treatment to address their problems with substance abuse. Vanguard's niche has become the provision of such treatment to those who do not have the resources to access the traditional private sources of help, such as hospital-based programs and private therapists. Our clients are often indigent, uninsured, or both, and frequently come to our programs as a last resort. It is the agency's goal to find ways to help these people in the most effective way possible. Contracts with local jurisdictions are in place, and creative arrangements to provide treatment constantly explored.

Contacts
For information on any of Vanguard's residential substance abuse programs or events, please contact the Office of Development and Special Projects at (703) 841-0703, ext. 117. You may also listen to the Events Hotline by dialing (703) 841-0703, ext. 170.