Women’s Month: Counsellor helps homeless conquer addiction

IN the midst of the concrete jungle of Congela is an oasis of green where batches of spinach spring up in Mpume Fuze’s vegetable patch. The Mayville resident works as a counsellor at the Denis Hurley Centre’s Dalton Road clinic.

She planted her vegetable garden to grow food for the homeless patients that visit the clinic. Fuze said the clinic attends to about 50 regular patients a day.

“Most of the patients we see are homeless. Residents are welcome to come to the clinic as well, but we focus on the homeless,” she said.

The clinic offers medication and meals as well as counselling to patients.

Also read: Women’s Month: Breaking bread with the homeless

“We are able to screen patients for TB and HIV. We offer counselling to those who are HIV positive and we initiate ARV treatment. They are able to collect their treatment here everyday and have a meal. They need to eat when they take their medication. We make sure that we follow up. If we don’t see a patient, we go onto the street to deliver medication. We also dress wounds and remove sutures where needed,”she added.

As a counsellor, Fuze hopes to help people overcome their problems.

“It’s always been my passion to help people -it’s what I love the most. “It makes me happy to see a person smile and have hope for tomorrow. We offer counselling to people who are struggling with addiction. Some people are taking drugs, not because they are enjoying it, but because they are struggling to quit. We are able to counsel them and refer them for further care,” she said.

Fuze said she has seen several success stories of people who have turned their lives around and been able to overcome their addictions.

“That is what gives me the drive to wake up in the morning and go to work. Even if there is one person out of 10 who quits, we can see the difference we are making in society,” she said.

Building relationships with her patients is an important part of Fuze’s work.

“I see people every day while I am giving them their treatment. They open up to me because I listen to them and their grievances each and every day and encourage them,” she said.

Also read: Women’s Month: Combatting GBV for three decades and counting

Fuze said many people struggling with addiction have lost ties with their families.

“It’s very painful as a parent to see your child taking drugs. You don’t know if your child is safe. It’s so hurtful. So we tell our patients that we are here for them, when they are ready,” she explained.

“We can’t force them. It has to start within them. We make sure they know the door is open when they are ready,” she added.

Fuze has worked at the clinic since 2017. She is a mother and grandmother to two grandchildren.