Eleven years ago, when she was 24 years old, Xiao Yu's (not her
real name) boyfriend persuaded her to try heroin. Out of curiosity,
she inhaled the substances for a few times, which made her feel
high and forget all her problems. Soon after, she became an
addict.
Years after her first heroin experience, the high was gone.
Instead, each time she craved drugs, she felt aches all over the
body, could not eat and suffered from severe insomnia.
"Drugs for me were once like a daily meal. To relieve the
physical pain and fall asleep, I could not get away from it for a
single day," she said.
Because of the drugs her mind was going slower and she was
becoming apathetic towards everything and everybody around her.
To give up drugs, she tried several voluntary drug
rehabilitation medical institutions, where she found she could only
get rid of the physical addiction for a while, but would always
relapse when she got out.
"The mental addiction was much more difficult part to get away
from," she said.
Two years ago, Xiao Yu finally found the support she needed at
the Sunflower Community of Beijing Public Security Bureau (BPSB)
Drug Abstaining Center, situated in the southern suburbs of
Beijing, which features a new model of drug rehabilitation
treatment. Xiao Yu has since quit drugs and is now working as a
peer consultant at the community.
All addicts that live in the center are called community
residents, who live together and manage their own affairs under a
hierarchical structure including a cleaning group, a catering
group, an administration group and a group in charge of encouraging
the members.
All the new arrivals start working in the lowest cleaning group.
Excellent work in their positions, a positive attitude and a
sincerity to help others will see them move to a higher position.
On the other hand, those who violate the rules may be downgraded to
a lower position.
The promotion grants more privileges, such as more phone calls,
family visits and participation in community management.
"I felt like a human being here. I got support from others and
offered help at the same time," said Xiao Yu.
Since she has beaten her addiction Xiao has found a new
boyfriend, to whom she confessed her past to.
"Love from the family, my boyfriend and of course, my friends
here gave me the power to resist the temptation of drugs," she
said.
Set up in 2003, the Sunflower Community had already treated 320
addicts and 67 of them still keep in contact with the center.
Now the community only receives heroin addicts transferred from
the compulsory drug rehabilitation division affiliated with BPSB.
The patients commonly have long drug-taking histories, rarely have
criminal records, infectious diseases or mental illness, and share
a strong will to give up the addiction.
"Establishing the Sunflower Community is a worthwhile trial to
increase the success rate of drug addicts getting away from drugs,"
said Wu Guoqiang, director of BPSB Drug Abstaining Center.
In the administration group office she has recently been
promoted to, Yang Li was rating the hygiene scores of each
dormitory. One month ago, Yang came to the community after staying
in the compulsory rehabilitation center for three months.
Yang started using heroin in 1996. Before that, she tried
several times to help her husband to quit his addiction. However,
each time her efforts proved to be in vain.
"The family was on the brink of breakdown. I was so desperate
that I took heroin myself," Yang recalled.
She admits that when she went through physical withdrawal from
drugs while at the center she thought about using again. She would
even unconsciously gesture as if she were taking heroin. Now she
keeps herself busy and says that she barely thinks of drugs any
more.
Developed in the United States about 50 years ago, the
therapeutic community (TC) approach adopted by the drug abstaining
center helps individuals recover from drug abuse and addiction
through peer influence and helps individuals learn effective social
skills.
There are three major types of drug abstaining institutions in
China. They are compulsory drug rehabilitation centers affiliated
to the police bureau for drug addicts caught for the first time,
institutions affiliated to the judicial system for drug addicts
caught for the second or more times and the voluntary drug
rehabilitation centers affiliated with hospitals.
Despite various channels for addicts to get clean, drug
abstaining focuses on the eradication of their mental
addiction.
Humanity, no discrimination, and emphasis on mental will is the
philosophy of Yu Hongfang and her husband, two former drug addicts
in Guiyang of Guizhou Province. In 2003, the couple opened a club
that provides psychological therapy and support to drug
addicts.
By sharing their similar experiences and treating addicts as
their friends, the couple helps new members by talking with them
about their pasts, and futures.?
According to Yu, so far the club had already taken in hundreds
of addicts from across the country and has helped 30 per cent of
them stay off drugs for at least a year.
Gu Bin, 38, had been working as a volunteer in the couple's club
since he successfully beat his addiction four years ago. "The key
to getting clean is to identify role models and regain a fighting
spirit," he said.
Gi began using heroin in 1991. Shortly after he lost his job,
spent all his savings, and owed money to relatives. Later, he
resorted to crime to get the money to buy drugs.
"The feeling of living in hell had become overwhelming. I felt
worthless and a few times, I wanted to end my life," he said.
He tried more than 30 times to give up his addiction, either
through drug rehabilitation centers or leaving for the countryside.
But each time he eventually found his way back to drugs.
"Now I know I set too high goals for to accomplish. At that
time, I wished I could get back everything I had before. But that
is impossible, so I felt increasingly desperate," he said.
Gu now feels himself a worthy person again and uses his own
experience to help others get clean. "It is atoning for my sins in
the past," he said.
However, despite the emergence of new drug abstaining
strategies, the chances of staying away from clean for good are
still small.
According to Lu Lin, director of National Institute on Drug
Dependence of Peking University, the relapse rate after three
months of drug addicts who try giving up was as high as 95 per
cent.
"Drug addiction is actually a kind of pathological state both
physically and mentally. However, people tend to discriminate
against them as people with character flaws and consider them
degenerates. This can only push the addicts to the depths of
hopelessness," he said.
So far, there are still no effective treatment options for drug
addicts worldwide, according to him. The oral methadone
substitution program around the country is the only therapeutic
strategy that has proven effective.
In fact, the largest risk from heroin use is not the toxicity of
itself but infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis. Also,
many heroin addicts die of an overdose because there is a
significant difference in purity between heroin and it is hard for
the users to manage its amount correctly each time.
(China Daily June 27, 2007)