MANILA, Philippines — Peter, whose real name was changed for his protection, started being dependent on illegal drugs back in 1987 when he was only 12.
“If there is no shabu, I used to smoke marijuana and it [addiction] just grew,” he told INQUIRER.net.
Peter said despite his addiction he managed to finish college. He said he was admitted into three different rehabilitation centers to undergo treatment. His first admission to a rehabilitation center was in 2000s but he eventually used drugs again after finishing the program.
He said he was only stopping using drugs during times when he had a scheduled job interview or when he knew he had to undergo drug tests.
Eventually, he said he has decided to continue being drug-free so he decided to work as a facilitator at Bridges of Hope Drugs and Alcohol Foundation Incorporated in Quezon City, where he finished his third rehabilitation program.
“I decided to work because I understood better here. The program really makes you understand who you are. I stayed here because I [might] have a relapse anytime and this job helps me with my sobriety,” Peter said.
After finishing the program, Peter said he started out as a volunteer staff who talks with families of patients in Bridges of Hope. After months of hard work, he was promoted into a senior staff facilitator where he looked after 20 patients.
‘No routine’
As you enter the Bridges of Hope in Quezon City, it looks like a highly secured facility but inside, patients are actually treated as residents in a village.
Dean Calleja, executive director at Bridges of Hope, said they offer different programs to their patients. He described their rehabilitation service as “kindergarten for adults.”
He said patients are tasked to do their own chores including cooking their own food, fixing their own beds, washing the dishes. Patients also do not have access to phones and internet.
“It is not a hotel inside. They have to pull their weight,” Calleja said.
Calleja noted that patients are required to dress up professionally. Patients wear long pants with collared shirts, and shoes to “build self-image.”
“One of the reasons they fell into an addiction, to begin with, because they have low regard for themselves they lack structure in their lives we are hoping they build their self-image,” Calleja said.
Bridges of Hope also offers a non-routinary program for every patient, Calleja noted. Patients may undergo different activities including art therapy, Zumba, yoga, interactive letter writing, and calligraphy, he added.
“Everyone has a program and it is tailor-fit for that person it is not boxed in. Everyone has their different program bc it depends on their attitude and age,” Calleja said mixed in Filipino and English.
‘Rehab center is not a prison for drug dependents’
Unlike the Filipino stereotype that rehabilitation centers are “prisons,” Calleja said they have a library with inspirational books to make patients feel that they are not deprived from reality.
“When we started this we knew what other rehab centers look like. The typical stereotype of Filipinos see rehabilitation centers as prisons – dirty, crowded, and rowdy – that’s not the impression that we want,” he said.
“We try to keep their lives as full as possible para [so that] they don’t feel like they are missing out. We want them to focus on their recovery but we don’t want them to feel too deprived,” Calleja added.
The executive director said operations of Bridges of Hope is targeted to help patients experience an environment with “positive feelings and supportive communities.”
“It is clean inside, it is a place of healing. They help each other heal, they help each other grow, it is a supportive community. It is a therapeutic community because they feed off each other’s positive feeling,” Calleja said.
In their facility, Calleja explained the implementation of “recovery capital” which inspires patients and eventually lead them to become sober.
“There is a selection: ‘What will help me with my recovery?’ Patients will think ‘Oh my kids, I want to be better for my kids. Or, ‘Oh my mother, she is 90 years old, I don’t want her to pass away while I’m on rehab,” he said.
“Patients must think what kind of capital do they have to push through recovery and stay sober,” he added.
Bridges of Hope Rehabilitation Foundation Incorporated, established in 2012, cater to 60 patients per facility.
According to the Department of Health (DOH), there are two DOH-accredited Bridges of Hope facilities in Metro Manila, one each in Parañaque and Quezon City.