In River Park Clinic stands one of Alexandra’s most vital lifelines: its substance abuse treatment facility.

For hundreds of families who have watched loved ones waste away under the grip of drugs, the clinic has offered hope, especially at a time when the scourge of addiction tears through the township daily. The crisis affects not only families but the community as a whole.

As ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont put it during his Mashaba Legacy Tour stop at the clinic on November 12: “Substance abuse is everyone’s problem.”

Read more: Mashaba-era clinics continue to offer hope to Alex amid ongoing substance abuse

Recovery advocate and founder of the Alexandra Anti–Drug Organisation, Raymond Hlubi, has witnessed the heart–wrenching impact of drugs first–hand. He recalled being called to homes where addiction had stripped families bare. Hlubi said he often found that the person suffering from addiction had sold almost every household item to feed their habit, and in some instances, substance users resorted to violence to get what they wanted.

“There are users who abuse their parents, and some whose addiction has become a mental illness; that is why you see them sleeping in pipes,” he explained. Hlubi added that the crisis has reached children not even in their teens. “I have been called by parents whose 12–year–old children are already using substances.”

While drugs have long plagued South Africa’s townships, it was only in 2018 that then–Mayor of Johannesburg Herman Mashaba launched five treatment facilities. Hlubi himself is a product of that intervention, now a passionate advocate for recovery.

Also read: Gauteng health calls on residents to end drug abuse

Beaumont explained that the Community–based Substance Abuse Programme offers free services including intervention, treatment, and reintegration. Years earlier, in 2016, Johannesburg’s first K9 Narcotics Unit was established to target drug dealers directly. Together with the treatment facilities, these initiatives formed part of a multi–pronged strategy to tackle both supply and recovery in the city.

ActionSA Gauteng provincial chairperson Funzi Ngobeni highlighted how transformative the free clinics have been. He noted that before their establishment, families had to rely on private rehabilitation centres, which cost large sums of money that many simply could not afford. For Hlubi, the River Park Clinic was life–changing. “My rehab was free, government–funded, and I am very grateful that there is an establishment such as this in Alexandra. The clinic is professional, with social workers, addiction counsellors, doctors, and programmes that support the community,” he shared.

The battle against addiction in Alexandra is far from over. But River Park Clinic and others like it continue to stand as beacons of support, offering families not only treatment but the possibility of reclaiming lives once thought lost.

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