First female treatment centre commissioned

Aug 14, 2008 News

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Guyana’s first female substance abuse treatment centre was inaugurated yesterday and is expected to cater to an initial 12 patients even as plans are engaged to expand its operation.
The facility, which comes as part of the expanded efforts of the Phoenix Recovery Project, is located at 90 Block ‘CC’ Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara, where a simple ceremony was held yesterday.
In attendance was representative of the United States Embassy, Rolf Olson, who spoke of the support that was rendered to make the opening of the facility a reality.
According to Olson, the female treatment centre was originally a proposal by the Catholic Relief Services and the Phoenix Recovery Project after it was recognised that there was no substance abuse programme for women in Guyana.
He pointed out that there are two ongoing substance abuse programmes that target men, noting that one is being operated by Phoenix. The other programme was put in place and is operated by the Salvation Army.
However, since there were aspirations by officials within the two entities to have women receive the same treatment opportunities, the proposal was put into motion, Olson disclosed.
“A proposal was made by both Phoenix and CRS to the Embassy last year and we considered it and found some funding available.”
According to Olson, the Embassy made available US$100,000 which has so far helped to pave the way for the substance abuse project.
CRS also provided a total of US$30,000 towards the venture.
Olson noted that there will also be a pilot project to facilitate outreach activities intended to fight substance abuse. He disclosed that five communities have already been targeted.
Additionally, he revealed that there will be training offered to health care frontline persons and health care social workers to help them better understand what they should look for when dealing in the substance abuse arena in order to appropriately refer clients.
Further, he said, there will be a programme which will entail the training of persons who will be involved in outreach, counselling and other activities in the prison system. This move, he emphasised, will address substance abuse in both male and female oriented prisons.
“All of this is an attempt to complement what the Ministry of Health is already doing…and the outstanding work that Minister Leslie Ramsammy has been doing in terms of making this a priority for his Government…We are thrilled to be a part of this. It is a fantastic programme and we are very impressed with Phoenix. So we expect to get maximum benefit.”
Coordinator of the Phoenix Recovery Project, Clarence Young said that the building has the capacity for 12 females, adding that 11 persons have already been shortlisted.
He pointed out that while the capacity of the facility is limited it is a start to addressing the problem.
He disclosed that the facility will have five clinical staff, a security, a cook, and a cleaner.
Young divulged that the new facility has been a dream of the Phoenix Project for quite some time. He said that the entity has been involved in treatment in Guyana since its introduction in 1996, but noted that unfortunately there was no specific programme for women.
“Women require special services. You can’t just assume or take them and put them into a programme designed for men. So that was probably one of the biggest challenges in getting the right infrastructure and exposure to the right training to be able to treat with them.”
It was for this reason, he said, the collaborative effort was engaged to first access relevant training which enhanced the information Phoenix needed to get the programme on track.
“Through the US State Department, CRS and the Ministry of Health we have been able to access relevant training which has enhanced the information we had before so we are now better able to treat with these women.”
The programme will last for 18 months with clients being exposed to an initial six-month period of inpatient care. They will endure a detoxification process to rid themselves of the substance, something which can prove to be a major challenge, Young said.
Following this, the treatment process will commence. This entails behaviour modification and is done through educational and experimental workshop.
Also very integral to the programme, Young said, is the reintegration of clients back into their families and their communities at large.
And while the programme is not free of cost, the Coordinator said that Phoenix is hoping that it will be able to provide the initial set of treatment for clients.
He said that the entity is currently seeking help to make this possible even as he noted that the assistance of corporate entities would be welcomed.

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