Break the Shame provides aftercare for addicts
WELTEVREDEN PARK – Aftercare assists recovering addicts to reintegrate into society.
Elani Richardson is a recovering addict who wants to provide the best possible chance for other recovering addicts to integrate successfully back into society. She and her husband, Brendan, have spent the last four years on the other side of addiction, running an outpatient programme.
Break the Shame has two tenets. The first, awareness, includes a walk and varying projects such as talks in communities and schools. Richardson is adamant there is a need for community outreach. The second is more solution-based and run in areas like Diepsloot, Windsor and Brixton, where individuals don’t have R60 000 to go into treatment. Richardson said, “We were fortunate enough to have a medical aid that paid for treatment. But medical aid won’t cover aftercare. Research shows in-patient treatment is worthless without aftercare. Think about it – an addict is contained for 28 days and suddenly has to get back into society without being taught proper coping mechanisms.”
Break the Shame, an NPO, encourages long-term programmes run through The Moon Recovery Centre, a private entity. The programme runs for four months and teaches a variety of coping mechanisms. Richardson, a registered counsellor, recommends patients stay on for a further four months after that.
Richardson addressed the misbelief that staying clean is tied to will power. She said, “If you consider a ‘normal’ person’s needs for survival (as per Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs) with an addict’s, there is a difference. When I start taking drugs, they’re at number 10 on the list. The more I take, the higher they climb until they hit the number one spot. Eventually, I believe if I don’t get my drugs, I will die. Addiction is a brain disease, it’s not about willpower.”
Each patient has to be assessed in accordance with the Department of Social Development. If in-patient treatment is required, patients will be referred accordingly. Richardson reiterates the importance of aftercare. Anyone battling with addiction in any capacity can contact her directly.
Details:
Elani Richardson info@breaktheshame.org.za
