Inadequate drug rehabilitation facilities in the City of Joburg led to a Windsor West mother to raise her voice in a desperate plea for help for her daughter.
Ward 98 councillor Beverly Jacobs wants to lift the curtain of shame felt by so many and calls on the government to do more to help families gripped by this ‘pandemic’.
She has battled since ….. to access adequate state treatment for her child.
“My beautiful daughter has been an addict for two years. This journey has been the hardest of my life and I am angry that there is so little support from the government to assist families fighting for their lives.”
Her daughter is receiving help from a local government hospital but Jacobs said the treatment leaves much to be desired.
“It has been two years of hell and medical staff are overwhelmed and seem unable to execute their duties meaningfully.”
Forced to use state facilities due to the costs of private care, Jacobs said there were no systems in place to help drug users or their support system.
“As I sat in the emergency department with my daughter, I realised that our systems fail people.”
“I looked around at the doctors and nurses trying their best but they were completely overwhelmed. I saw children who are users of drugs walking around like zombies. Patients were screaming and shouting and I felt like I was in a horror movie.”
She said she witnessed verbal and physical abuse that medical staff endured from out-of-control patients. “The stress they are working under is unmanageable. How much longer will we stand by and watch this? Why is the government not doing more to fight this disease?”
She implored different levels and spheres of government to start talking to each other and for someone to take charge.
“It starts at the top. With national government. Drugs are coming into our country easily as our borders are porous. Dealers act with impunity as the judicial system is failing us and local government is failing to help those in the grips of addiction.”
“There is no shame in this. Let’s not hide in the darkness. We need to carry this burden together and demand our officials do more to help addicts fight this disease. Drug addiction affects people from all walks of life regardless of status, sex, age, race, upbringing or education. The effects are devastating not only for the addict but for those around them.”
“I thought I knew about the effects of drugs on society until it affected my daughter and my home. I had no idea of the extent to which people battle.”
Sandra Pretorius from Sanca Horizon Alcohol and Drug Centre said “Appropriate treatment options in the city are difficult to come by when looking at government facilities for a variety of reasons.”
Jacobs said seeing drug dealers on the streets of Windsor West was the catalyst for her standing as a ward councillor.
“I saw them every day pushing drugs into the hands of our community and our children and hoped I might play some small role in curbing this scourge.
“They smiled as they pulled people into a life of devastation and destruction and I wanted to have a platform to fight their impunity.”
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