By Trudy Simpson, Freelance WriterCOCAINE BECAME 35-year-old Anthony Sill's friend when he was in high school in the United States of America. It started small, a bit here and there, to help the Jamaican-born youngster escape the pressures of having to work and study and to fight anger at his father who he said used to 'beat him for nothing'.
Later, while spending a brief time in college, cocaine became his party drug, part of his 'cool' accessories.
But soon the drug was no longer cool. Instead, it cost Sill chunks of his life, leading to prison terms for armed robbery, aggravated assault and car-jacking between 1994 and 2000 and even to a murder allegation, which was later dismissed.
Sill's addiction indirectly led to his deportation to Jamaica in 2000, a country he had visited only once in 1986 after leaving the island at age 12.
Although he was welcomed by relatives, Sill's overwhelming craving for crack cocaine resulted in his living on the streets among other substance abusers. He and most of his local relatives also became estranged because several of them were tired of him robbing them.
Sill continued other forays into petty crimes to support his habit.
But life as a substance abuser lost its lustre two months ago when a 'friend' with whom he shared his drug, stole from him and 'sold him out' for money to buy drugs.
"I said mi ah leave these people. Mi nah come 'round here no more. I was tired of the streets. I was tired about being around these people. Dem stab you in your back too easy. Me mek up mi mind to come off the street. Mi want to come out and give my life to Christ. In fact, I am to be baptised," said Sill on Saturday.
In a bid to turn their lives around, Sill and up to 24 other men, now spend their time learning self esteem, discipline and new skills at a Drug Rehabilitation Centre, operated by the Salvation Army, the evangelical and social service organisation.
"I've learned a valuable lesson. I guess that's why I came down here (Jamaica) to go through the gutter and now I'm really looking forward," Sill added.
The centre, located on Lyndhurst Road, was opened in 1989 and has helped an average of 45 to 50 persons each year through a four to six-month recovery programme. The centre helps to give persons battling addictions to alcohol, ganja and crack cocaine a reason for living through counselling, address spiritual desires through bible classes/devotions and offer skills training in woodwork, printery, refrigeration, upholstery, welding, culinary arts and small gardening.
Most of these men come through the Detox unit at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), through probation officers or by the courts but the important ingredient is that they 'need to recognise that they have a problem and need help' said Captain Reuben Phillips, who manages the rehabilitation centre.
The participants themselves also form a Narcotics Anonymous group (NA) and hold meetings where individuals share their experiences and offer support.
The centre has a follow up programme, which allows persons recovering from addiction to be employed by the Salvation Army once they complete the programme.
Those sent home are monitored by the Salvation Army. Persons have to check back in with the Salvation Army at least twice per week for six months after completing the programme. This is later reduced to once per week and they are welcome to go back to NA meetings, Captain Phillips said.
The important thing to remember is that you can recover, added substance abuse counsellor Richard Blackman.
He overcame addiction after being a slave to alcohol, crack and cigarettes for more than 20 years. "I have been able to educate myself and move on. You have your slip-ups and your ups and down but eventually you come back to sanity. Recovery is possible and the longer you stay clean, the more you forget about the urges," he said.
The counselling programme is key at the centre. Blackman said the programme teaches recovering substance abusers: 1) how to take care of themselves physically; 2) how to understand addiction and relapse prevention; 3) how to interact socially with friends and other members of society and 4) how to connect and improve spirituality. "They cannot recover without love for the Higher power. They get it all here. The aim is to achieve balance so they don't replace one addiction with another," he said.
Forty three-year-old Garth Smith agrees. Brushes with marijuana (ganja) litter his past, leading up to that moment when curiosity drove him to try crack cocaine in 1997. The first hit made him feel 'so mellow, so nice and the rights words just flow with the women.'
But a few puffs became too many and his addiction cost him his job at a car dealership in the United States, indirectly led to his deportation to Jamaica in 2003 and derailed his dream of improving football skills he had learned while working with now well-known clubs and football players and officials in Jamaica.
"When you start, it's like only weekends you need it. Then you change to two days then three days then every day because not even ganja feel as good as it. Not even cigarette, not even beer and not even the woman. Sometimes they choose it over her," said Smith, who used to 'hustle' and lie to friends and family so he could get the $1,500 he spent daily to buy drugs.
These days, Smith is on his way to recovering, thanks to family support and a need to overcome a habit that often resulted in feelings of embarrassment and depression when he met old friends who saw him in his addicted state.
"I feel good now. I feel real strong within myself and I feel progressive. It (drugs) cheated me out of some of the things I should be doing. It prevented me from expanding myself in soccer (football). Now I want to try to be a coach," said Smith, who said he now feels good when he meets his old friends and they see him looking more like how I used to.
