Social rehabilitation of drug addicts

Healthcare officials express serious concern: according to non-official statistics, the number of drug addicts in Belarus surpassed 100 thousand people. The Head of the Department for Drugs Control and Fighting against Trafficking of Humans of the Ministry of Interior, Oleg Pekarski, quoted official statistics: 50-60 thousand. There only slightly over 10 thousand drug addicts registered officially, said the Chief Narcology Expert of Belarus, Vladimir Maksimchuk.
 

There are no state rehabilitation centres and private ones are not affordable for drug addicts

The assistance provided by day-care and dispensary narcology clinics is often not enough to cure drug addiction. A drug addict needs permanent renewal of psychological and physical reserves, as well as renewal of values, interests, opportunities, willingness to work and to communicate with other people. The Chief Narcology Expert of the country has repeatedly drawn attention to the fact that the government needs to organize the rehabilitation of the drug addicts at the state level, that there was a need in a rehabilitation centre which could be financed by the state.

Today there are slightly over ten rehabilitation centres in Belarus funded by various civil and religious organizations. There are also rehabilitation programmes implemented in large commercial medical centres. For instance, the medical centre “Paracels” implements its own social rehabilitation programme “Bereginia” outside the city on a daycare basis, which lasts for five months. However the cost of such rehabilitation is over 25 million Belarusian rubles, which is hardly affordable for the drug addicts. Regarding the conditions and the price level at the medical centre “ Phoenix”, where according to unofficial information children of the high-level officials and famous people were undergoing a course of rehabilitation from methadone addiction, one may only find out in a private conversation. In addition to “Paracels” and “Phoenix”, rehabilitation programmes for drug addicts exist in Minsk based medical centres “Stay”, “Neovitana”, “Donskaya-Startseva”, “Doctor Molchanov” and others however they are not free of charge.

«Mothers against drugs»

Slightly over ten civic and religious associations are dealing with this issue primarily on a voluntary basis and are funded via donations and foreign sponsor assistance.

In 2000 a Republican civil association “Mothers against drugs” was registered. The Chairwoman of the association is Alena Pisarenka, a psychologist and a teacher. Their major rehabilitation programme is called “12 Steps”. Its duration is 6 months, 6 nights a week. Those who desire to go through the programme may be working or studying during the day time and should go through drug detoxification.

A group of psychological rehabilitation for relatives of drug addicts was set up “Tough love as alternative to neglecting” (targeting relatives and friends of drug addicts). Meetings of the group are organized in a form of interactive discussions: sincere conversations in the spirit of trust and co-passion bring people closer to each other, allowing sharing their problems and as a result they have huge psychotherapeutic value. In the course of the past 5 years over 150 people addressed for help. Half of them achieved sustainable remission. Participation in the programme is free of charge. Groups of co-assistance are active in Brest, Vitebsk, Grodno, Zhlobin, Pinsk.

Contact information: land line (017) 293-07-59, mobile phones +375 29 677-21-85; +375 29 772-92-86; Е-mail: [email protected]; www.narkotiki.by

Svetlogorsk is a “non-official capital” of drug addicts

Several centres and programmes are active in Svetlogorsk among them: a volunteer civil association “Alternative”, a youth civil association “Realny Mir”, an International volunteer civil association “Christian Social Services “TOS Weissrussland””.

The “Realny Mir” association was using the experience of the Polish rehabilitation communities “MONAR” when they started their activities. Then their programme went through changes and improvements, focusing on the most progressive aspects and instruments used by many of the European rehabilitation programmes, such as Dayton Village, Phoenix House, Getaway House and The House of Family Rosetta. The programme emerged as an alternative to the traditional methodological approaches. It is a long-term rehabilitation programme, lasting 12 to 18 months on the conditions of a 24-hour day-care.

«ТОS Weissrussland». This rehabilitation centre was founded by the International Charity Organisation of the Christian Social Service TOS.

The Centre opened in 1998 by German citizens, a man and a wife Egbert and Anita Schoane. Egbert and Anita bought a building of an old village school in the village Astrouchitsy, and made it into a Centre for rehabilitation of those inhabitants of Svetlogorsk that were willing to free from drug addiction.

Husband and wife Schoane provided with assistance all those addressing them. The majority of them managed to free from the destructive drug addiction, the programme efficiency is 85 % and over 120 people went through it. The programme is based on regular learning about how to overcome difficult life situations and developing character based on the Bible. The programme includes work therapy: working in the kitchen, at a construction sight or agricultural fields.

The process of rehabilitation is based on two pillars: therapy via work and spiritual therapy. One of the ex-drug addicts of Svetlogorsk recalled how significant this assistance was for him:

“Many people find it difficult to adapt to ‘clean’ life. When they stop using drugs, they notice they fell out of the social life. Quite often they can not find understanding at work or at home. They face various psychological problems that they can hardly overcome. The easiest getaway is to take a needle and to continue with injections. I was a drug addict before I know what it is like on my own experience. Any assistance is always timely”.

However in spring 2008 the Belarusian authorities accused the Germans of violations of the legislation, i.e. they regarded the Christian activities of the Centre as an “unsanctioned religious service”. Therefore the founders of the rehabilitation Centre were refused an invitation and the latter lost their opportunity to return to Belarus. The Centre was left without funding.

A Svetlogorsk supporter of the rehabilitation Centre who was in contact with it said, that “no one was ever hiding that the rehabilitation process at the Centre was organized via addressing to the God and via learning the Bible. It was active for many years and there were no complaints or protests in this regard. However this year, as I understand, one girl that went through the rehabilitation process there appealed to the authorities with a complaint that she was engaged in a non-registered religious association at the Centre. I believe no one is willing to close down the Centre the authorities rather have taken a break. A violation was confirmed by the Ministry of Justice regarding the non-registered religious activity of the Centre. In their view the Centre organized religious meetings and services without registration”.

The Chief Doctor of the Svetlogorsk rehabilitation Centre “Dom Nadezhdy”, Jury Butyrin, regretted the current complexities his colleagues were facing in Astrouchitsy. He said that in his view the local authorities were making a mistake, “There is a huge need in rehabilitation centres. The situation in the country in general does not look very cheerful, there are over 60 thousands of drug addicts”.

«Trust with your live to the God»

In Soligorsk, the ambulatory rehabilitation of drug addicts under the auspices of the religious community of the Evangelic Christian believers of the “Church Christ for All” is organized via invitations to morning and evening church services. They are conducted by pastor Igor, who used to be a drug addict for 8 years. He managed to overcome his addiction via believe in God. The duration of this programme is at least one year, in the course of the past five years over 100 people went through it. Its effectiveness is around 40 %. The programme is free of charge, however one has to pay for his or her stay in Soligorsk by him/herself.

Mikalay Kalatsky, who used to take drugs for 10 years says, that “I came to the God when I realized that the life I was living had no future. I trusted my life to God five years ago”. Today Mikalay has a family. He is a trainer of the male rehabilitation group at the Centre.

Ludmila Korsak