In ‘Sober Houses,’ Heroin Addicts Learn to Help Themselves
In ‘Sober Houses,’ Heroin Addicts Learn to Help Themselves – This is the VOA Special English Health Report, from voaspecialenglish.com | http Tourists come to Zanzibar for its white sand beaches and historic buildings in Stone Town. But something else also makes its way to the Tanzanian island: heroin trafficked across the Indian Ocean from Asia. Most of the heroin shipped through East Africa is headed for Europe and North America. But Reychad Abdool of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says a lot of it stays on the continent. “We know for a fact that heroin is being used in at least thirty countries in Africa. And we also know for a fact that the number of countries reporting injecting drug use, especially of heroin, is also increasing in Africa.” The problem in Zanzibar has led to some creative local solutions. Suleiman Mauly stopped using heroin six years ago. Now he operates a network of so-called sober houses. These are run by addicts themselves to help one another recover. There are nine sober houses — eight for men and one for women. Mr. Mauly himself went through a drug treatment program in Kenya. But it cost around two thousand dollars, he says. Staying in a sober house costs about one hundred dollars a month. Most of the people are supported by their families. Treatment is based on the idea that drug addiction is more of a public health problem than a crime. Mr. Mauly says this is still a new idea to many people. “Because addiction, it’s a disease, and addicts need treatment. But people, they hear that addicts …
The Newtown Shootings: Mourning the Loss of Children Taken So Suddenly Away
Filed under: drug addiction help for families
There is the loss in witnessing our children sink into drug abuse and addiction, or profound emotional distress, dragging them beyond our reach. There is chronic illness that afflicts our child and breaks our heart. There is … Peter R. Breggin, M.D …
Read more on Huffington Post
Memorial doubles as protest of West Valley police shooting
Filed under: drug addiction help for families
"I think it's just amazing that people would come out and support my sister and stand up for her and for what she can't say," said Willard's 19-year-old sister, Kayleen Willard, blinking back tears as she stood with supporters. "This doesn't make sense …
Read more on Salt Lake Tribune
Book Review: House Of Cash: The Legacies Of My Father Johnny Cash by John …
Filed under: drug addiction help for families
Of course things weren't always idyllic in the Cash family home. In the early 1980s Cash fell back into drug addiction again and Carter Cash tells about fearing his parents would end up divorcing, the fights at home being so bad. … When one of the …
Read more on Seattle Post Intelligencer (blog)