New Day – more help for drug addicts
Here, drug addicts are not judged as bad people, but rather they are seen as people with a disease who need help and care.
A new facility has recently opened in Raceview – the New Day Recovery and Rehabilitation Halfway House. On October 9, Taine Newport, the social worker and manager of this facility shared her own testimony of drug addiction and how she overcame it after plenty of ordeals.
New Day was actually founded by Lionel Rodrigues (32), but he and Taine (28) have been good friends for the past three years and share the same ideologies and values, therefore he didn’t hesitate to appoint Taine as the manager and social worker. These two friends will be running this out-patient facility located at Glen Albyn Street, Raceview together.
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New Day is in the process of registering with the Department of Social Development and meeting all required standards as laid out in the standards and regulations for halfway house and outpatient services. There is a house manager to monitor the clients through the night and make sure they are following the rules.
PAMPHLET: This pamphlet gives more information about New Day and the services they offer.
Medical aids do not cover the outpatient programme wholly but due to Taine being a social worker, the sessions she runs in the outpatient programme can be claimed from medical aid, depending on savings available and the plan that the client is on.
“We are happy that the facility is located in this area,” said Taine. “It’s close to hospitals and there’s very little competition in the South and East of Johannesburg – most similar facilities are in the North.”
Relationships are being built with psychologists, social workers and psychiatrists in the area. There are always unforeseen circumstances and because of that, they are also building working relationships with the hospitals in the area. They have a security company on call and New Day’s staff is also trained in first aid and crisis management.
This facility was established with the purpose to be a recovery community, based on care and empowerment instead of focusing on consequences and punishment for those who struggle with drug addiction. Here, drug addicts are not judged as bad people, but rather they are seen as people with a disease who need help and care.
“I remember when I was sent to rehab; I was terrified. It was tough and very traumatic. I don’t want patients to feel that way at New Day,” said Taine. “All we ask of the patients is to stay open-minded and to be ready and determined to stop their addiction. At New Day we will treat them with love and help them realise their worth.
“Addicts are not bad people. The root of the problem is that they are hurting inside. New Day is an out-patient unit which means that patients do not have to move in, stop living their lives and become even more depressed. Our services are also partially covered by medical aid, making it an even better solution for addicts in trouble,” she adds.
Lionel has another halfway house in Orange Grove and Taine is still working as a consultant at a primary care facility in Oaklands, but these two are looking forward to taking on New Day as a new challenge.
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Taine is especially excited about making a success from this to prove to herself that, despite her long struggle with substance abuse, she can make a success out of anything no matter how difficult it may seem. She shares her story.
“I grew up here in the South,” she says. “When I was very little I lost my mother. I couldn’t cope and I turned out a troubled and aggressive child. I gave my poor family a lot of grief and they didn’t know how to handle me.
“I constantly felt rejected. Being the youngest of three children didn’t help because I always felt as if I had to keep up with them to be cool and accepted. So, to be funny and to get attention, I would drink and smoke cigarettes. I started smoking when I was 10.
“In school, life orientation piqued my interests in drugs. As we learned about different drugs, I would only take notice of the euphoric effects that drugs promised instead of the negative effects and potential addiction that came with it. I was so curious to try it, so I did.
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“It started small with alcohol and weed, but once I got into high school, the situation soon became a dangerous downward spiral. I started using stimulants like CAT and cocaine and a lot of alcohol. I got busted plenty of times and I was often isolated from the other learners, but that didn’t stop me.
“My dad didn’t punish me – I think it was his way of preventing the situation from getting worse by punishing me because I was very rebellious. On my 18th birthday, I found out that my grandmother had cancer. She passed away three days later.
“You can imagine I flipped out on drugs because it was the perfect excuse. I started using very strong pain medication as often as I could get my hands on them. After I got addicted to it, I used it with alcohol. I almost overdosed a few times, but I kept going. I was a horrible person to everyone back then.
“Eventually I turned to heroin. It was not long until I became really, really depressed and suicidal. I wanted my life to end. Thank God my family sent me to a rehab centre in the North even though I relapsed twice after that.
“I finally realised that I needed to change in order to get my life back on track. It was not until I wanted to change, that I actually did.”
She concludes: “New Day will change lives. This is also the next journey for me. Let’s see how far it goes!”
If you are interested or know of someone who needs tertiary drug-addiction treatment, affordable and structured living where they can focus on their recovery in a safe environment and rebuild their lives with guidance and support, please contact Lionel on 071 873 0241 or Taine on 082 471 7898 or visit their website at www.newdayrecovery.co.za.
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