While the IAS actively supports many social reform programs until they gain a firm foothold in society and win external support, it is also, through grants to Narconon, helping to fund the bedrock for the planetary assault against drugs.
With IAS Freedom Medal Winner Gary Smith at the helm, the Narconon New Life Center in Oklahoma is expanding like never before: where it used to receive around eighty calls a week from
those wanting to learn about the program, today it gets more than 100 calls a day. And when it first went on the Internet with multiple websites, two thousand visitors came each week — but, with the results of LRH’s drug rehabilitation tech spreading throughout the US in magazines and on national TV shows, the number of daily visitors to the site now exceeds ten thousand.And with this level of demand, not only did the number of new public enrolled on the program double, but Narconon doubled its staff in this last year alone. Bursting at the seams, it needed to expand its facilities.
At last year’s IAS Anniversary event the solution was announced — the purchase and complete renovation of Narconon Arrowhead. Thanks to a grant from the United States IAS Members’ Trust this project is now well under way.
In addition to the design and renovations of new premises, it has been the source of new friendships forged and even lives saved. For example, as one of the first actions in the Arrowhead community, IAS Freedom Medal Winner Bobby Wiggins began a drug awareness campaign in the McAlester Public School System. The Principal was delighted with the student response, not only because children were totally engrossed for the entire seminar, but because, more importantly, they joined the “International Drug Free Youth Campaign.”
Soon, the teachers were requesting to be trained in the Narconon drug education techniques themselves, so they too could help the children. The Narconon staff have created a bond with the community which was clearly seen when the Lake Eufaula Association expressed its appreciation by presenting its most coveted recognition to Narconon Arrowhead — the “Community Spirit Award.”
Narconon Arrowhead will be the largest residential drug rehab program in the world, and a great deal of planning and work is being done to prepare the facility to meet its needs. This isn’t a minor project — it’s massive. Work is moving full steam ahead to renovate the 144,071 square-foot facility on 256 acres on the shores of Lake Eufaula. The restoration of the exterior goes far beyond painting the buildings. It will have a brand new copper roof, and extensive landscaping to maintain the natural beauty of the surroundings. The main building features unique architectural themes, such as the lobby’s granite stonework and open-hearth fireplace, which will he the tallest in the nation. The lobby’s 37-foot-high ceiling rises above the mezzanine level and the President’s office, which mirrors the arrowhead-shaped design seen throughout the building.
Adjoining the lobby is the large auditorium that will accommodate 300 people for conventions, graduations and international conferences. Every space is designed to provide the most destimulative environment for rehabilitation. There are areas specifically intended to help new arrivals through drug withdrawal, including delivery of assists, while each room will have its own lake or forest view.
Arrowhead is also being fully equipped with an exercise facility, and five large saunas that service up to 88 people at a time. The four course rooms are each designed for the different phases of the program, from theory to practical, and there is a fifth course room to train Narconon staffs from around the world.
Throughout the entire facility one will see Native American designs that signify the two most regained abilities voiced by those graduating the Narconon program — new life and freedom. And that’s exactly what tens of thousands more will experience when they come to Narconon Arrowhead.
[Image caption: Top: IAS Freedom Medal Winner Gary Smith, ED Narconon New Life Oklahoma. Center and above: A course room and sauna at Narconon Oklahoma in the current facility in Chilocco. Narconon Oklahoma is expanding like never before. Where they used to receive around eighty calls a week from those wanting to learn about the program, today they get more than 100 calls a day. To meet this level of demand, they urgently needed to expand. A grant from the US IAS Members’ Trust funded the purchase and renovations of the new Narconon Arrowhead facility.]
And along with the renovations and expansion, all the materials needed to train new staff at Narconon Arrowhead to open new programs around the world are also being put in place. This is truly a facility where anyone will be able to see that LRH drug rehabilitation tech is the only workable solution to the world’s drug problems.
Today, we stand at the threshold of a new era for Narconon. With renovations nearly complete and a training line-up for international expansion, the opening of Narconon Arrowhead will be a huge leap forward in the crusade against the drug problem that is destroying society. Arrowhead will be the largest and most effective drug rehabilitation center on this planet and an international center for Narconon expansion.
As LRH said in the bulletin, Drug Problems: “Scientologists do not stand ready to punish drug takers or reform a whole society on the subject. But they do stand ready and are active in helping anyone or any government to handle the problem.”
Renovations for Narconon Arrowhead are almost complete. When complete, it will be the largest and most effective drug rehabilitation center on this planet and an international center for
Narconon expansion, thanks to a grant from the United States IAS Members’ Trust. The photos on this page show:1) Installing the ventilation system.
2) Constructing displays in the main lobby.
3) Qualifications Division offices.
4) Installing sprinklers in the auditorium.
5) Laying fresh tarmac.
Opposite page:
6) The facade of the main building facing Lake Eufaula.
7) The main lobby features 37-foot-high ceilings and the tallest open-hearth fireplace in the country.
8) The large auditorium that accommodates 300 people, for conventions, graduations and international conferences.
9) Detailed work has been done to provide the most destimulative environment for rehabilitation, as can be seen in this picture of one of the facility’s beautiful rooms.
10) The office of the President Narconon Arrowhead.1
Notes
- Impact 96 (pp. 14-17) (2001). PDF format. ↩