Despite having many success stories of recovering addicts at the Chithuen Phendhey Association (CPA)’s Drop-in Centre in Paro, the tide is running against them.
Since the centre is financially incapable of supporting recovering addicts with proper rehabilitation facilities, many others are said to have been relapsed. The centre has only two rooms to host counseling sessions.
Thus, with 18 regular recovering addicts attending anonymous meeting (where they are being counseled on ill-effects of drugs and one’s determination to kick the addiction), thrice a week and about another 21 visiting clients every week, the two rooms are often congested.
The equipment for recreational activities is cramped in the office of the counselor. Addiction recovery activities include only meetings and counselling sessions at the centre.
“There are many who have gone back to the same old habit. And I am not going to blame myself or our organisation or my volunteers here, maybe it is the lack of recreational activities,” said Sonam Tshering, the Counsellor of CPA. “I personally experience that today the youth are more interested into all this information technologies like computers, and either into music. And here at the moment we lack all this.”
He added the Drop-in Centre is responsible for helping an individual reintegrate into society by getting recovered from addiction. Today, the unpaid volunteers and the members themselves have made a bit of contribution to the association.
“We have a contribution box there. And that money comes from our anonymous meeting. We have a treasurer, we have a chairperson, and we also have a group services representative,” added the counselor, Sonam Tshering. “With that money, we do is there are times where an individual come, who doesn’t have any support and we feel that he needs to be taken for detoxification to make him come out of this withdrawals, we spend from that money.”
The Drop-in Centre has their hopes placed on the internet cafe which they intend to open soon. The cafe is expected to generate income for the centre.
Despite all these hurdles, the counselors and volunteers continue to work on advocating and educating people to end stigma and discrimination pertaining addictions and recovery.
