Dear Editor,
I write this letter today to remind your readers of a few modern day unsung heroes who battle an epidemic that continues to ravage Guyana and indeed, the world. The epidemic I speak of is the cunning and baffling disease of drug addiction, and a few of the heroes of this battle are Mr Clarence Young and his team at the Phoenix Recovery Project in Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara.
Mr Young, a Trinidadian by birth, took up arms in the battle against addiction and drug abuse in Guyana in 1995, when he facilitated a three-week drop-in clinic for drug users. Luckily, for hundreds of addicts, Clarence decided to make Guyana his second home and got involved with Guyana’s first structured Drug Rehabilitation Programme at Prashad’s Hospital. He went on to design and implement the Salvation Army’s drug treatment programme. On the 1st August 2000 this Trinidadian hero established the Phoenix Recovery Project, a Drug Rehabilitation Programme which provided some much needed reinforcement to those who were dual diagnosed: battling drug addiction as well as other mental illnesses in Guyana.
In 2007, Clarence and his team at the Phoenix Recovery Project established the first Drug Rehabilitation Programme for women in Guyana, alongside the men’s programme. Again, this programme for women was established because Mr Young and his team saw the desperate plight of Guyanese mothers, wives, daughters and sisters who had fallen into the trap of this cunning and debilitating disease. The team at the Phoenix Recovery Project have reported an alarming increase in the number of people, from all walks of life, seeking help with drug addiction, over the years of their ongoing battle.
A Household Drug Survey conducted in Guyana in 2016 reported that 66.5 per cent of the participants believe that there has been an increase in drug use in the past few years and that 40.9 per cent believe that it is easy to access marijuana. Questions pertaining to alcohol, a legal substance, revealed that 64.2 per cent of male and 46.3 per cent of females who currently drink indulge in binge drinking. This survey further revealed that 56.4 per cent of the participants believed that drug abuse in Guyana should be a core concern of the government.
According to an article in the Guyana Chronicle (10th February, 2017), Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan, believes that these statistics “shame us all,” and that something must be done. Minister Ramjattan even went on to expound on the link between drug use and violence, delinquency, anti-social behaviour in adults and even failures of the education system. The Minister also went on to highlight several suggestions made in the survey.
These include regular sensitization on the harmful effects of licit and illicit drug use, the training of persons who have shown an interest in the field of treatment and prevention, and the establishment of more treatment and rehab centres across the country. It was indeed heartening to all those in the battle against addiction to see the Government of Guyana continue making steps in the right direction.
Minister of Social Protection Amna Ally has pledged $10 million towards the advancement of the work of the Salvation Army’s Drug Rehabilitation Programme in 2017. This is indeed an encouraging sign that the Government of Guyana is willing to support the fight against drug addiction. This gesture, I am sure, gives the seasoned warriors in this battle hope that more widespread financial support from the government is to come.
However, this is not enough if we are to make any real progress in reclaiming the lives of our fellow citizens caught in the living hell that is drug addiction. Recently, a report from the United States Department of State highlighted the absence of a comprehensive demand reduction strategy to adequately address drug rehabilitation in Guyana. Just on the heels of this report Minister Ramjattan said to the Kaieteur News (March 29th 2017) “Yes, the commitment is there and we will try our best to do as much as possible to give more than the $10M.”
If Minister Ramjattan and the Government of Guyana are indeed committed to promoting drug rehabilitation in Guyana they need to utilize the knowledge and experience of those men and women who have been battling the drug addiction epidemic for decades. These wise warriors must be a part of formulating a comprehensive demand reduction strategy to battle drug addiction in Guyana.
It is also important that the Government of Guyana remembers that the Salvation Army’s Drug Rehabilitation Programme is not the only successful programme in Guyana, and assistance is desperately needed elsewhere.
The veterans at the Phoenix Recovery Project, with assistance from a few private citizens and organizations, continue to maintain one of the last bastions in the never ending battle against this terrible epidemic. This little fortress in Mon Repos continues to be the only safe haven in Guyana for women who have fallen victim to this debilitating disease. It is with this in mind that I plead with the Government of Guyana and any willing private citizens to lend their support to the Phoenix Recovery Project and its unsung heroes.
Yours respectfully,
Jason Narine
(Grateful Recovering Client of the Phoenix Recovery Project)