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The Salvation Army Rehab Centre…
Winning the fight against abuse
There is a dire need for the public to be sensitised on the issue of drug addiction. This is a problem which, according to Kirk Jardine, Senior Caregiver at the Salvation Army Rehabilitation Centre, has been claiming the lives of many young Guyanese.
Jardine, who himself was rescued from the vice of drug addiction some 10 years ago, has been dedicating his energies towards helping others recover from the problem.
During a recent tour of the Rehab Centre, which is located in Kingston, Georgetown, it was emphasised that the recovery process for a drug addict is not an easy one.
However, time and time again, persons are able to successfully complete the phases of an intense recovery programme with the skilful assistance of the counsellors and care givers of the institution, according to Captain Matignol Saint-Lot, who manages the programme.
He disclosed that, over the past two years, the programme, which treats about 60 males annually, has seen a more than 60 per cent success recovery rate.
Senior Caregiver, Kirk Jardine
It was related that the clients who are admitted to the institution are exposed strictly to behavioural modification techniques since, according to Jardine, drug addiction is comparable to a chronic disease.
He said that the disease is of such a bio-psychosocial nature that efforts are made to engage the rehabilitation process from three standpoints.
According to him, sessions do not only include sound counselling and therapy segments, but also an anger and stress management feature, which is geared at helping clients cope with life.
The programme, he noted, is complemented by group therapy sessions, where clients are allowed to confront each other on their personal character defects.
“In this way we are able to evaluate them and attempt to ease them back into society,” Jardine related.
Additionally, he revealed, the Rehab Centre liaises with the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation’s Psychiatric Unit, particularly when clients exhibit a certain level of psychosis.
Recently, Minister within the Ministry of Health, Dr Bheri Ramsarran, and a team visited the centre to evaluate the patients.
Should patients be found to be mentally ill, they are transferred to the care of the hospital, Jardine said.
According to him, for the first six months of the recovery programme, it is mandatory that patients remain at the institution, where they eat, sleep, exercise and engage in other daily activities even as they are closely evaluated.
However, following the in-house period of the programme, patients are welcome to return to get further counselling and treatment sessions.
“Persons can relapse. It is likened unto diabetes, because people can die if they do not get treatment. I was here (admitted at the centre) in 1998, and it has been 10 years now that I am clean…”
Sadly, though, there are a number of persons who receive treatment then relapse and are never able to return to the institution,” Jardine noted.
Some of the recovering patients at the Rehab Centre
He pointed out that such situations are not due to any fault of the programme, but, rather, the commitment of patients to change.
“What we try to do is to motivate them in the direction of change and organise a structure to help them develop a plan that would sustain that change over a long period of time.”
In order to be admitted to the recovery programme, persons must be accompanied by a family member who is expected to help maintain some level of discipline during the course of the programme.
The cost for the in-patient care is $50,000 per month, which is met either by family members or through Government funding.
However, it is anticipated that with the assistance of the Private Sector Commission, individuals and businesses may come on board to sponsor clients who cannot afford to pay their way.
And while the Salvation Army is currently unable to provide an in-patient drug rehabilitation service to females, it has been rendering an out-patient programme which has attracted a number of women.
Chairman of the Board, Mr Eddie Boyer, has however noted that the time will come when the women will have to be enrolled in a full-time programme in order for their recovery to be a true success. This is a move which will require the continued assistance of the private sector.
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