NCDA Targets Community-Based Treatment for Drug Abusers

The National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA) is undertaking a pilot programme, which is aimed at providing community-based support and treatment for drug abusers.
The initiative, which is also expected to expand the number of drug treatment centres across the island, is being funded by the National Health Fund (NHF) over a two-year period at a cost of more than $20 million. Under the programme, the NCDA is partnering with approximately 10 community-based and non-governmental organizations and providing these bodies with the necessary training and resources to take on substance abuse treatment as a component of their service delivery.
The organizations include Ferdes House, Boulevard Baptist Church and Maverley Gospel Hall in Kingston; Folly Education Centre in Portland; Sigma College of Nursing and Applied Science in St. Ann; and the Theodora Project in Westmoreland.
“We are very excited about this initiative as we expect a lot should be achieved, especially where there has been a gap between institutionalized treatment and the need for community-based support for people, who need this sort of treatment,” said Executive Director of the NCDA, Michael Tucker at a recent JIS News Think Tank.
This unique and innovative approach to treatment should see the selected organizations, some of which already provide such service on a limited scale, being provided with computer software and equipment, among other necessities, to facilitate this outpatient service. “We are sourcing these as we speak,” Mr. Tucker said.
“We want to ensure that they [organizations] have the equipment in-house to work and build a database, and we are going to give them training and counselling skills in dealing with substance abusers, persons with HIV/AIDS and other problems such as trauma,” he informed.
In addition, the organizations will be provided with resource material to conduct training and outreach in the community. “We will support them with the presence of our abuse officers, who have training in counselling and for those clients, who present mental health problems, we will have psychiatrists and psychologists rotating through those centres every week to give support to those clients,” he noted further.
It is anticipated that persons will commence benefiting from the programme in February of next year.