The City Social Welfare & Development Office of Dumaguete has an ongoing aftercare program for recovering addicts from drug rehabilitation centers but the program is also open to “drug surrenderers”.
Encarnita Cadile, in charge of the CSWDO’s aftercare for recovering drug dependents program, disclosed Friday that already three male clients have completed the 18-month cycle and have availed of government livelihood assistance.
Cadile and another social worker, Jocelyn Yangco, have been specifically tasked to manage the aftercare program, which is receiving funding from the Department of Social Welfare & Development in Region 7 and the Department of Health.
Started sometime in 2014, the program caters to drug dependents who have been temporarily discharged from a drug rehabilitation center but with a court order that requires them to report to the DSWD and enroll in the 18-month aftercare program, Cadile explained.
The clients come in with their mother or parents at least twice a month for counseling and monitoring upon discharge and for a few months and later on visit the CSWDO once a month, she said.
Aside from counseling, the recovering drug dependents are also invited to attend some activities, such as a family camp last September 2016 in Cebu City which was sponsored by the DSWD-7, according to Cadile.
Once the program is completed, a poor client may receive financial aid from government, while rich clients cannot avail of the financial assistance but can still receive the aftercare counseling, she said.
Walk-ins are also welcome for the light and moderate drug dependents while severe cases are referred to the City Health Office for assessment and/or recommendation for commitment to a drug rehabilitation center, she added.
So far, there have been no walk-ins yet from the “surrenderers” but Cadile is hoping that some of them will avail of their services, not necessarily the aftercare program, on counseling.
Currently, the program has one on-going aftercare enrollee but Cadile said she received word that this person had moved to Tacloban City in Leyte.
Cadile expressed concern over this, saying that the recovering drug dependent’s aftercare program has been cut off and there is no similar program in Tacloban as yet.
Meanwhile, Social Worker Jocelyn Yangco, who with Cadile has been specifically trained on aftercare, will be attending a write-shop on May 8 to 12 in Legaspi City.
The activity aims to come up with a manual on the aftercare program to be shared with other local governments, Cadile said.
Once the project funded by the DOH and DSWD-7 is terminated, Cadile hopes the local government unit of Dumaguete City will take over and adopt the program.
Cadile is also hopeful that drug surrenders will volunteer to come to their office for counseling.
The City Health Office will evaluate each surrender from the list provided by the Dumaguete City Police Station to determine the severity of the drug addiction and to recommend the proper care and treatment for each individual, Cadile said. (Judy Flores Partlow/PNA)
