Former drug addicts say that patients should stay in special centres longer than one month.
Several people who got rid of drug addiction said that Winnipeg provides too little funding to treat such illness - a person needs to spend two years for a full treatment of addiction, and the state should support him fully during these two years.
Michael Adrian was meth addicted for many years, and he repeatedly tried to undergo treatment, but very often there was no place for him in specialized centers.
Once he got to prison, and Michael believes that prison was his salvation. The man spent several years there and it helped him overcome his addiction. The man does not think that he would still be alive if he had just spent 28 days in a rehabilitation center: this is too little for a full treatment.
At the end of last week, the government of Manitoba announced a decision to allocate money for additional beds and a longer stay of patients in treatment centres. In addition to this, mobile brigades will appear in the province. At any time of the day or night they will be able to help people in need.
Now, Adrien is a social worker, and he has been working with drug addicts for many years and saw with his own eyes that the period of a month is too short to make a person start a new life.
Marion Willis, the owner of one of the drug addiction treatment centres, said that during 28 days, none of the staff could reach the person and understand why he uses drugs, what life situations led him to such a life. Perhaps providing psychological help and support can be very effective.
Marion also believes that it is very important to keep the patient’s departure date free. Doctors should be sure that the patient is ready to leave the centre. Now, the state sets the period when patients should be treated, and in most cases they return to drugs sooner or later. In addition, the staff at the centre should stay in touch with former patients to assist in case of need.
Michael admitted that he used drugs and lived enjoying a lot of parties and leading an idle life. People who want to get rid of their addiction, trust him very much, as he shows that they can everything with his own example.
In Michael’s life, everything was good, in his opinion, until his friend committed suicide in 2011 because of drugs. He blamed himself for the death of a friend and first tried to escape from the reality with the help of meth. Then he was arrested and that day he realized that it was a sign from above. The prison helped the guy get rid of his terrible disease and start a new life.
Manitoba is now searching for a supplier of beds and additional clinical groups to make significant changes to drug treatment in the province.
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