Clean-up for Recovery Month

IN HONOUR of Recovery Month for addiction, several organisations have rallied together to give back to their communities through clean-up operations and creating awareness of drug abuse.

Freeway Ministries, a rehab and sober living home, and other organisations have come together to clean up Symphony Avenue Park.

This is a park used by local children but has become a dumping ground for rubbish

Marketing and fund-raising manager for Freeway Ministries Emile Naiker, said they wanted to give back to the community and not take from it like addiction often does.

“On September 23, to celebrate Recovery Month, we’re giving back to the community. We’ve seen not only the need for healing and restoring lives ruined by drugs, but the need to help with community rundown. We found this site that was beautiful but filled with household waste and rubble, and kids are playing in this filth so we decided to do something about this,” said Naiker.

They will be painting, running a feeding scheme and planting trees on the day.

Ward 68 councillor Marita Petersen said the park was a hot spot for dumping and there had been several attempts to educate people about waste management in the area.

“The City cleans up the area twice a week and in the next two days, it’s in the same state as before, with the dumping. People need to take ownership, this is a sad behavioural pattern. We planted trees two months ago and they are damaged. We have some money to upgrade that park, to fence it, put it in some gym equipment. The mindset needs to be changed to keep it clean. We welcome the clean-up,” said Petersen.

Cecil Matthews, director of Jubilee House Recovery Centre For Men, said it was important to create awareness about addiction.

“It’s very important for everyone to understand that recovery is a long-term thing. No one ever wakes up one morning and chooses to become an addict. Yes, it was a choice for most addicts to taking the first puff, or that first hit, but most addicts also never thought they would become addicted to that substance.

“Most addicts have stayed in that lifestyle longer than they thought and they’ve lost more than they ever thought they would. Recovery is hard work for the addict who wants to be clean because they have to unlearn a lot of the bad habits that have become part of their lifestyle.

“The most important lesson for me on recovery is that it’s not a six week or three month thing, recovery is a fight for life,” said Matthews.

New Hope SA house supervisor Gregory Williams added that September being the month of recovery “has been specially put in place to make communities aware of the change which is possible in a community when people decide to step into recovery”.

“Recovery month has been recognised throughout our country in different forums, like walks with placards in the centre of the city, different shares of strength and hope by addicts and alcoholics, also a gathering for people from different treatment centres and community groups who are against drug and alcohol abuse,” said Williams.

Today New Hope SA will take part, along with other recovery centres, in the annual Recovery Walk, which will take place at Maynardville Park in Wynberg.

“We’re looking forward to it, as the New Hope SA community is – to team up with Freeway Ministries, Living Hope and The Jubilee Church, to do a clean up of streets in the community of Steenberg. We will also offer them a decent meal on the day and interact with the community in a very friendly manner by sharing with them our stories of strength and hope,” said Williams.