One of the most important components of the Northbound Academy is the development of Life Skills. Students in the Northbound Academy learn how to manage their time, budget, study, and more. We help them with study skills and writing papers. We help them manage their time when an exam is approaching and help them organize study groups. Our primary aim is to teach our students how easy school can be when their time is managed efficiently.

Many of our students in the Northbound Academy choose to relocate to the local Orange County area and continue their schooling after discharge from the program. We help each student find and apartment in the area, develop living contracts with their sober roommates, and develop a budget for when they are living on their own.

Our goal is to make the transition from living in monitored treatment to independent living as effortless and seamless as possible. We make sure that everything is in place for discharge from the Northbound Academy. We ensure that clients are registered for the next school semester, that they are on track for their respective degrees, and that they have a detailed recovery schedule when they leave us.

We often require students who have been through the Northbound Academy to check-in with us frequently after leaving us so we can help them work on transfer applications, make sure they are staying on track in their recovery, and help them with any assignments they may be having difficulty with.

Trish Buenzli, a Case Manager with Northbound Academy, recently introduced the Northbound Academy and LINKS to Second Harvest of Orange County. Second Harvest is a local charity food bank feeding local residents. Northbound has made a commitment to their organization to help sort food in their new 121,000 square foot facility the first Wednesday of every month. In addition to current clients, Northbound encourages all staff to attend as well!

There are over 161,000 individuals who go hungry every day in Orange County and forty percent of those who go hungry are children. Northbound is honored to be teaming with Second Harvest to alleviate the problem as much as possible.

The Academy and LINKS will make volunteering at Second Harvest a permanent part of the client’s programming. Northbound would like to introduce clients to community outreach and encourage the continuation of volunteering involvement in their own home communities.

Northbound has also made a commitment to a couple other events sponsored by Second Harvest. Please contact Admissions if you have any questions regarding the volunteering or other volunteering opportunities in the Orange County area.

If you have any questions regarding the Northbound Academy please feel free to call us at 1-866-311-0003 .