Children as young as eight are being treated for drug addiction in Gauteng.
This statement came from a community worker at Sanca Central in Johannesburg, Ms Freda Dibetso.
Ms Dibetso urged parents to be careful and to be close to their children from an early age.
She said this after the EXPRESS published a story about a group of five Yeoville nyaope addicts, who wanted to quit their habit.
“Drug addiction does not start when a person is working or is at high school or at university. It starts from an early age. We have too many drug hotspots in the Johannesburg area alone. Schools are one of them. I have seen children as young as eight being treated for drugs,” she said.
According to Ms Dibetso, there are some symptoms parents should look out for in their children.
“They start skipping school. They start to have reasons to ask for more money frequently. They loose their belongings mysteriously and frequently. They change their old friends for petty reasons.
“When talking to you or other people they get irritated quickly and they are aggressive. They skip sports practices and most of their standards drop at school. If you see some of these signs, you might need to be worried,” she said.
She said these symptoms may be caused by other factors but they can also be a reason for parents to be alarmed.
“If you see some of these symptoms, talk to your child and find out what is happening. You can also use them to justify why you think he or she should go for drug testing. Sanca is there to help addicts, and those affected by it, to fight this scourge,” she said
Helping drug addicts who live on the streets is a challenge to Sanca.
“One needs to have someone who will monitor them once he or she starts our programme.
“We need to know that the person will be fed every day before taking medication. We also need to know where to find the person to remind them of their next appointment. We have many people relapsing because they were staying on the streets while on our programme,” she said.
Ms Dibetso said even after going through the programme, it is not advisable to go back to the streets.
“There are a lot of drug pushers on our streets. Putting a person in our programme while they are still on the street, or just after finishing our programme, is a waste. Keeping the same friends that you were smoking and using drugs with is another reason for most relapses,” she said.
Ms Dibetso believes recovering drug addicts need their families’ support.
“When we help an addict to rehabilitate we help the family too. They need to know his fears and hopes. They need to understand what triggers him to use drugs. Family support is important on this journey,” she said.
She a lack of trust between the drug addicts and their families is another reason for many addicts relapsing.
“When an addict uses, they lie, steal and cheat their family and friends.
“It is not easy for them to trust the person again. It is not easy for many families to accept a recovering addict back. Some addicts, when they see they are not trusted by those around them, relapse. But some work hard to prove to their loved ones that they are serious about recovering,” said Ms Dibetso.
When approached by addicts who live on the street, Sanca refers these people to an outreach programme.
“They are placed in a commitment programme. They go through a pre-rehab programme. This includes attending commitment sessions and support programmes. The problem is that it may take three months for one to be taken into the outreach home to start with medication and programmes to be rehabilitated,” she said.
She said there is an after-care programme that rehabilitating addicts must go through.
“This is three months long, where the rehabilitating addict gets tested and encouraged to stay clean,” she said
Ms Dibetso said Sanca Central will be working with Outreach Foundation and the Yeoville SAPS to help the Yeoville addicts who previously expressed their wish, in public, to quit the highly addictive nyaope.
