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‘Nyaope tops the list’ – Gauteng intensifies fight against substance abuse
A display of different substance abuse addictions were depicted along with the number of cases in various areas.
Service delivery response unit call centre floor manager, Lebogang Lekwadi at the launch of Gauteng Anti-Substance Abuse Helpline in Johannesburg , 25 October 2022, to intensify the fight against substance abuse across Gauteng communities. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
Aiming to intensify the fight against substance abuse, the Gauteng government yesterday launched a 24-hour anti-substance abuse call centre service led by trained call centre agents to address the rising intake of drugs in communities around the province.
It is also a platform for parents/caregivers to make applications for children and young addicts to be accommodated at a state rehabilitation facility for treatment.
Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi said it was an integrated programme with the departments of health, social development and agriculture, rural development and environment.
“When we announced the MEC for social development and Gauteng department of agriculture and rural development, one of the key mandates we gave her was to respond to the challenges of substance abuse, in particular nyaope, in our communities,” he said.
“Since that announcement we have been inundated with calls from parents wanting help for their children.
“We therefore felt we needed to build an infrastructure that can take the calls, screen them and identify areas where there are problems.
“Today’s walkabout was to officially launch the helpline as part of our intervention.”
Lesufi added the programme also had a strong skills support and post-rehabilitation component.
Soul City Institute for Social Justice spokesperson Pontsho Pilane said it was important to address the reason why people use drugs to begin with.
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In many cases, it was related to mental health issues and socioeconomic issues, Pilane said.
She said it was imperative to look at how families and the society could make life easier so people did not use drugs to feel a certain way.
Nyaope topping the list
Gauteng department’s service delivery response unit chief director Phil Buthelezi said the unit used multiple channels to receive requests as they came from different areas across the province.
A display of different substance abuse addictions were depicted along with the number of cases in various areas.
“The process was started prior to the launch and with the information received, as they present themselves with those that know their addiction, we are able to locate it in terms of the different areas and nyaope was the one topping the list,” he said.
“But we still have members of public like parents and community leaders who do not know the actual addiction so we will refer those matters to social workers who will conduct prescreening to establish the person’s actual addiction.”
“It does not matter who reports the matter, we will still be able to process the different stages.”
The service accommodates both first admissions and re-admissions.
Buthelezi said within 24 hours case managers have to engage the person who presented the matter.
He said there were also community workers on the ground along with a social media page where people can present themselves.
“We cannot afford to miss anyone that comes through different means to approach their government for this service,” he added.
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– lungas@citizen.co.za
