Our History

ATCAR is a part of Adult & Teen Challenge International which started in Brooklyn, New York in 1958, by Rev. David Wilkerson. Adult & Teen Challenge International USA centers have been recognized nationally as a provider of recovery services of those who desire to transform their lifestyle and develop a new life free from the devastation of drug and alcohol abuse. It is one of the oldest, largest and most successful programs of its kind in the world. Since its establishment in 1958 Adult & Teen Challenge has grown to more than 170 centers in the United States. If you would like to know the story of how Adult & Teen Challenge started it is told in the book “The Cross and the Switchblade.”

Since 1969, the mission of Adult and Teen Challenge of Arkansas (Formerly known as Teen Challenge of Arkansas) has been to provide residential, faith-based help for men who struggle with life controlling problems, such as addiction.

We are a 501-c-3 nonprofit organization that began in Little Rock, Arkansas. In 1981, the program moved to a rural campus just north of Hot Springs.