Pubdate: Fri, 03 May 2002
Source: Irish Examiner (Ireland)
Copyright: Examiner Publications Ltd, 2002
Contact:  http://www.examiner.ie/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/144
Author: John Breslin
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

FORMER ADDICT GRADUATES WITH HONOURS TO KICK HABIT

CHRISTINA starting smoking heroin when she was 17. Two months later she was 
shooting up. Less than two years after that her family found out when she 
overdosed in the bedroom of her home. It's an all too familiar story, that 
all too often ends up with the addict either in prison or dead. But the 
26-year-old is very much alive today, drug free and expecting her first 
child in a little over a month.

Christina, not her real name, graduated last night with eight other 
recovering heroin addicts from a unique project based in her home area. All 
have remained off the drug for more than a year.

The Ringsend and District Response to Drugs is defiantly local and the 
programme combines traditional treatment and counselling with other 
services, such as weekends away, career guidance and recreational activities.

A key element is mutual support between the clients and many of the 29 who 
have graduated so far return to help those still struggling.

Christina, in her near eight years taking drugs, attempted to get off 
heroin in the past, from doing it by herself to attending clinics and 
residential rehab units. She was on a methadone programme for many years, 
but always returned to heroin.

"I think I was doing it purely for my family and not for myself. If you do 
not want to get off, nobody will make you do it," she said.

But she was also put off by the approach of other agencies. "It seemed like 
other people were always looking for something, more information than I 
wanted to give and were pushing you to come down quicker than you wanted."

Drug addicts, she said, are very quick to make snap judgements on those 
charged with trying to get them off. "If you find them a bit too forceful, 
then you back off," she said.

The office of the South Western Health Board-funded programme was a 
30-second walk away from her front door. She knew about it but never went 
in, believing that no one knew of her addiction in the area. Of course, 
everybody knew.

Eventually she joined and says: "As time goes on, you come to an 
understanding. Now I never deny my past for the simple reason, and I don't 
want to be cocky, is that my past has made me the person I am today and is 
part of the person I am today."

Teresa Weafer, project co-ordinator, said: "A large element of the approach 
is encouraging the involvement of family and friends in the treatment process.

"We would strongly advocate a drug-free approach to recovery. Having said 
that, we do understand that for some clients methadone is sometimes 
necessary to help clients through the very initial stages, but we would 
limit this to as short a period as possible."
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