Every day, the recycling points along Pretoria Main Road and Florence Moposho Street, stretching down to East Bank Avenue, underscore the grip of substance abuse among Alexandra youth. Young people walk in and out of scrapyards, trading items they scavenged in dustbins and dumping sites across the community.

Some are desperate for a meal, but others are desperate for the next fix which will offer them relief from the unbearable cravings. Lehlohonolo Manyatsela, a recovering addict, knows the struggle too well. “Addiction is a disease. Once you know the feeling of what you’re smoking, you can’t just walk away.”

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He shared his experience during the City of Johannesburg’s Region E social development event at San Kopano Hall in Alexandra on Thursday. The event was meant to inform Alexandra residents about the department’s programmes, including the substance abuse programme that has helped residents, like Manyatsela, recover from addiction.

Manyatsela spoke about how, for over a decade, addiction consumed his life, robbing him of his ambitions, but his story didn’t end there. Through the support of social workers and the River Park support group, he found the lifeline he needed. “I recovered a lot of things. The love of my talents… Reading, writing, and acting.”

Monitored closely by social workers, he began to rebuild, joining awareness campaigns to shine a light on the darkness of addiction. Now, nearly two years sober, he is not just a survivor; he’s a guide for others trapped in the same pit he once knew. “I work at River Park, and I have seen that drugs have taken over in Alexandra. As a person who knows that life and its impact, I am willing to work with parents who have children that are affected by drug addiction.”

Manyatsela was candid about the struggle, noting that recovery does not happen overnight; it is a process. He has also felt the sting of relapse himself. After five years clean, he slipped when he left his support group. Now, back in the fold, he is not only staying clean; he’s serving as a beacon for others, showing that redemption is possible.

He encouraged everyone affected by substance abuse to reach out to them at the Community Based Substance Abuse Treatment Centre at River Park Clinic.

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