* Author: Encarna García-Ludeña *
In my last article I told you about my experience with the APSA association. This time, I want to talk about my visit to the Proyecto Hombre association in Guadalajara, which receives support from the Fundación Iberdrola. In this case, we had decided to fund a comprehensive treatment programme for people with severe alcohol dependence.
What is Proyecto Hombre? As they themselves explain, it is the combined effort of many people -professionals, therapists, relatives and volunteers- that unite and work together to accompany and help people in their process of rehabilitation and reinsertion into society.
When I arrived at the association, I was welcomed by three people, one of whom was Modesto Salgado, secretary and representative of the foundation. The other two introduced themselves very politely as residents undergoing treatment and at the reinsertion stage. The first thing that struck me was the frank way in which they introduced themselves, addressing the existence of an alcoholism problem and that they were staying at the residence.
The fact is that like any other type of dependence, alcoholism is a serious chronic disease. The first step towards commencing treatment is for the person to accept that they have a problem.
After we had introduced ourselves, they showed me around the residence where they carry out each of the activities (therapeutic, educational, medical-health, training, guidance and reinsertion in the labour market). As we walked around the facilities, they told me about the early days, accepting the problem, suffering in silence, the social and family consequences…One of them said that the alcoholic patient often thinks that others are exaggerating when the family says they have a disease and that it is common for them to deny the issue and conceal it, out of shame.
When I asked them about the place occupied by the family, they explained that the family are always the first to suffer the consequences if one of their loved ones becomes an alcoholic. However, fear of being abandoned by their family or a real threat of a break-up is usually the reason that triggers the patient to seek help.
They went on to describe their daily routine at the residence, explaining that treatment was divided into two separate stages and what the rehabilitation consisted of. The first stage is the therapeutic community stage, which is residential and incompatible with employment. It lasts around eight months and contact is maintained with the family with scheduled weekend outings.
This is followed by the reinsertion stage, a socio-labour programme lasting nine months, in which the patient no longer lives at the centre and returns to normal life, working as a member of a group or on their own. If they meet the targets set, they are discharged from the therapy.
After my visit, the residents and the Proyecto Hombre foundation thanked the Fundación Iberdrola for its support. I asked one of them to write a short account of the important experiences they had gone through. I’ve copied it here below, as I think that reading this letter could be useful in the rehabilitation process for the patient and in supporting his family. It also highlights the importance of the work carried out by associations, mental health centres and other healthcare institutions.
“It doesn’t matter what my name is or how old I am; I might be young, I might be old, it doesn’t matter. The fact is that I’m a drug addict.
I didn’t realise that my life was gradually falling to pieces, but my wife, my daughter and my family did.
I didn’t think, I didn’t tackle my problems, I hid and found an escape in drugs (hard drugs, alcohol, what does it matter!).
Then my wife said that she couldn’t put up with it any longer, that I had changed, that I was different to the person she once knew and that for her daughter’s sake, she wouldn’t allow it to continue. Then they proposed that I should make a decision, and for the first time in a long time, I MADE A DECISION.
I entered Proyecto Hombre, where they taught me that there is a way that doesn’t include drugs and that it’s possible to give them up.
With the passing of time and the help of the whole therapeutic team and the other patients I spend my days with in this new life of ours, I have realised that I can go back to being me, to being the father, husband, son and brother that I used to be. For me, to see my daughter smile again means that the effort I’m making is worth it.
I would like to thank Proyecto Hombre for all the help they are giving me and that they can help other people like me that get to this point. My therapist advised us to choose a motto to start the day. I say: ‘You’re a good father’”.
