FAQ
What is the purpose of the NC4H?
To provide a specific high-quality residential response to the needs of street-dwelling drug users in and near Durban.
Will this address the needs of all street-dwelling drug users?
No, but we hope it will demonstrate an effective and viable model of rehabilitation that can be used to inform efforts by Government and wider society to comprehensively address the crisis.
What is the level of the crisis?
Statistics indicate that nearly 4 million South Africans were regular users of narcotics in 2013. The 2016 HSRC survey of homelessness in Durban identified 4,000 people regularly sleeping rough in the CBD. Of these just over ½ (2,200) admit to regularly using illegal drugs and about ¼ (1,000 people) using drugs such as whoonga and cocaine (as opposed to just dagga). (The experience of the Denis Hurley Centre, which sees hundreds of homeless people at our feeding scheme every day, would support these rough proportions.)
Do people become homeless because they are addicts?
Sometimes – but our assessment is that it is more likely that they become homeless because they have failed to find work or fallen out with their families, and that they become addicts once they are on the street (and are seeking to survive the stress of being homeless).
Do homeless addicts want to get off their drugs?
Sadly, there are some who do not; but there are many who do. The role of the Denis Hurley Centre will be to identify those who genuinely want to and are ready to commit to a programme. Since many became homeless for lack of work, they realise that addressing the addiction is necessary if they are ever going to be able to get a job and get off the streets.
What was the first step?
The Archdiocese of Durban committed a former boarding school as a site, north of the city near Verulam. It is already home to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart parish church, as well as the Convent of St Rose (Dominican Sisters of Oakford) where an AIDS hospice is located. The name of the site, ‘Ekukhanyeni’, means ‘the place of light’: this will be a place where we help people to move from the darkness of addiction and lack of purpose to a place of light.
Why the name?
The Napier Centre for Healing (NC4H) is named after His Eminence Wilfred Cardinal Napier OFM. It flows from Cardinal Napier’s commitment to the poor (in the tradition of followers of St Francis). He has been personally involved in the work that the Denis Hurley Centre does to provide healthcare to street-dwelling drug users under the bridges and near Dalton Beer Hall. This has sparked a passion to see people set free from the oppression of addiction to drugs and alcohol. His belief is that, if underpinned by prayer and fasting, the intervention will be inspired and guided by God.
In what other ways has Cardinal Napier been involved in the response to addiction?
- Soon after his first visit to the streets with the Denis Hurley Centre, the Cardinal hosted at the DHC a meeting with other religious leaders (including Rabbi Hillel and Saffura Khan, both now patrons of NC4H, plus the then director of Aryan Benevolent Homes). He invited families affected by drugs and each of the leaders spoke about how drugs had personally touched their own families and their own communities, in order to de-stigmatise the question of drugs and to encourage families to seek help from their own religious communities.
- The Cardinal has described the situation as being like the early days of the AIDS epidemic: “We know it is happening in every family, but people are afraid to talk about it, and religious communities behave as if there is no problem. As religious leaders we need to break the silence on drugs as we did on AIDS.”
- The Cardinal actively supported the work of Neil Coppen and The Big Brotherhood theatre company in creating a play (‘Ulwembu’) about drugs on the streets of Durban. This also involved support from the Urban Futures Centre at DUT with whom the Denis Hurley Centre works closely to tackle difficult urban problems.
- At the end of the Year of Mercy that had been called by Pope Francis (2016),the Cardinal challenged the whole Archdiocese of Durban to take seriously the threat of drugs in all our families and communities. He used the closing Pontifical Mass (8 Dec 2016) to distribute a personal prayer card and dedicate the Archdiocese to praying for this cause and for the creation of NC4H.
- The Cardinal convened a study day for all the 100 priests and deacons in the Archdiocese of Durban to learn more about drugs and to reflect on what role each of them could play in responding in their local communities. This included watching extracts from Ulwembu’ alongside Grade 11 students from Holy Family College. The Papal Nuncio (Ambassador) to South Africa was present and was very moved to see the Archdiocese responding to such a difficult and important social issue.
- In July 2017, the Cardinal attended and encouraged many other priests and others to attend, a 3-day course on Addiction hosted by the Jesuit Institute South Africa and led by an American Jesuit priest who talked very frankly about his own problems with addiction over the previous 30 years.
Why the timing?
Cardinal Napier will be retiring after 26 years as Archbishop of Durban in early 2018 and would like this to be a project that continues the Archdiocese’s commitment to the poor (as already shown in the Denis Hurley Centre). The idea of the Centre emerged during 2016, which Pope Francis had called as an Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, to remind us to see others through God’s merciful eyes and to be instruments of God’s mercy to others.
In what sense will NC4H be Catholic?
NC4H – like the Denis Hurley Centre – will be ‘inclusively Catholic’ not ‘exclusively Catholic’.
The programme will be based on a strong Catholic ethos in terms of a whole-person approach to healing, a belief in grace-filled personal transformation: the Catholic tradition of ‘conversion’ means a ‘turning round of the heart’. It will also build on the long Catholic tradition of education and formation, as evidenced for example, through the Church’s novitiate programmes. It will have the support of the local Catholic communities, the parish and the Oakford Dominicans.
How will NC4H be inclusive?
NC4H will welcome addicts (and staff) of all faiths and none. In starting the project, we have already been working closely with other faith-based organisations (e.g. the Muslim RAUF or Harmony Centre which has an Evangelical Christian foundation). The Cardinal has shown this commitment very clearly in the list of people he has invited as patrons, and in his role for many years as Chair of the KZN Religious Leaders Forum and in the World Council for Religions and Peace.
Who are the Patrons of NC4H?
The Chair of the Patrons is Cardinal Napier himself. Already committed to joining him are:
-Rabbi Hillel Avidan, head of the Durban Jewish Progressive Synagogue and with a keen family interest in rehabilitation
-Pundit Raj Barath, Chair World Council for Religions and Peace and leader in the Hindu community
-Bishop Dino Gabriel, Anglican bishop of Natal
-Saffura Khan, member of the Muslim community, head of development at SANZAF and with a keen family interest in rehabilitation
-Mac Nqobile Khoza, from Olive Tree Church with a keen personal interest in rehabilitation
-Rev Linda Mandindi, Methodist bishop-elect for the Natal Coastal District
-Professor Monique Marks, Urban Futures Centre DUT and member of the Jewish community
-Major General Victoria Mekute, senior officer in SAPS KZN
-Jane Ngobese, member of the Methodist community, daughter of Chief Albert Luthuli and with a keen family interest in rehabilitation
Other patrons are still expected to join.
Who are the key partners for NC4H?
We already have a commitment to working in partnership with two key Government institutions, the Newlands Park Rehabilitation Centre, Safer Cities (and their Qalakabusha project) and OsindisweniDistrict Hospital (located very close to Ekukhanyeni). We hope to have a strong partnership of sharing knowledge and resources with the Department of Social Development.
Non-Governmental partners include a number of organisations already working closely with the Denis Hurley Centre: RAUF (Muslim community group working in drugs education), Urban Futures Centre at DUT (piloting a creative approach to addiction in Durban at the moment), Harmony Retreat Centre (Greytown-based private rehab facility whose model has really inspired us), Narcotics Anonymous (peer-to-peer 12-step groups for addicts, as well as Nar-Anon for families).
Again, we are open to talk to and work with other partners.
How is the NC4H governed and managed?
The Archdiocese of Durban has set up the independent ‘Napier Centre 4 Healing Trust’ (IT 000462/2017 D) which has fiduciary responsibility for NC4H. This is comparable to the structure of the Denis Hurley Centre. The Trustees are:
-Wilfrid Cardinal Napier
-Fr Stephen Tully (Chair)
-Murray Leyden (Legal Advisor and acting Treasurer)
-Patricia Swartz (Fundraising Advisor)
-Carl Emmanuel (Construction Advisor)
The Executive Committee meets monthly to oversee the project; this includes the Trustees and also:
-Pearl Ramotsamai (Social Work Manager of FAMSA and Programming Advisor)
-Raymond Perrier (Director of the Denis Hurley Centre)
-Rob Riedlinger (Communications Advisor)
-Sr Helen Wagner OP (liaison with Oakford Dominicans)
-Fr Paulus Ndlovu TOR (liaison with Ekukhanyeni parish)
-Others who from time to time have a specific contribution to make
Each of the key areas (Programming, Fundraising, Construction) in turn convenes a sub-committee to look in more detail at key issues and to bring them to the Executive for approval. Mazarshave already been appointedas the auditors.
Can we donate to NC4H now?
Most certainly. The Trust Deed for NC4H has been approved by the Master of the High Court and, very shortly a bank account will be set up. Details of this will be communicated as soon as they are confirmed. (In the meantime, donations can be made into the Archdiocese of Durban bank account clearly referenced for NC4H so they can be ring-fenced.) We will then obtain 18a status for the work of the NPO so that future donations can benefit from tax deductions for corporates and individuals.
What is the planned programme of NC4H?
This is being drawn up based on extensive research with a number of existing addiction facilities in KZN and the Western Cape (and also examining some overseas models such as Cenacolo). Broadly speaking we are looking at 4 phases:
- Preparation: through the Denis Hurley Centre and other partners candidates will be identified and accompanied over a number of months to see if / when they are ready to join the programme
- Detoxification: this will initially be through Newlands Park Centre and would last several weeks depending on the nature of the addiction (at a later stage this might take place at NC4H)
- Rehabilitation: this would take place full-time at NC4H and could last from 3 to 9 months. It would include psychological counselling, purposeful activity (e.g. building, gardening), spiritual accompaniment, life skills training, physical activity, emotional skills development, education about addiction, group counselling, chores/ productive activity, community social activities, healthy eating
- Reintegration: this could last a further 3 to 6 months and would be partly at NC4H and partly in the community (working with the Denis Hurley Centre and others). This would include job skills, apprenticeship programmes, integration into a local NA group, family counselling, social skills, money management, literacy and numeracy (in some cases), computer skills, self-motivation, building trust, communication skills, learning to live independently, coping with life in the real world.
Thus, someone could be supported by NC4H and its partner organisations for 12-18 months in total.
Is NC4H committed to a particular response of addiction?
There are a number of responses proposed to tackle addiction: complete abstinence, 12-step programmes, psychotherapy, transitional medication, substitute medication, spiritual healing, etc. There are different responses because there are different kinds of addicts. We are open to explore any approach that works and do not start with pre-conceived ideas.
What is different about the planned programme of NC4H?
It mirrors closely the best programmes available at private addiction treatment centres: we want to make this same sort of programme available to people living on the streets. At the moment, they only have access to a very short detox and rehab programme (typically 6-12 weeks) and often end up back on the streets and back in addiction soon after leaving. Our belief is that a longer and more integrated programme will have a sustainable impact on their lives. The spiritual dimension is of course also critical.
Will NC4H focus solely on whoonga users?
The biggest problem for street-dwellers in Durban is whoonga. That is because it is cheap (R20 a straw!), easily accessible, quickly addictive (after just 2 or 3 straws) and highly toxic (the ‘dirty’ heroin is often cut with other substances). It also creates the biggest social problems since whoonga users are rarely able to hold down a job and many resort to crime to feed their addiction. There will of course be people who are addicted to other substances alongside whoonga as well as some candidates with a different narcotic addiction (dagga, cocaine, amphetamines).
It is generally unwise in a small programme to mix people with very different addictive pathologies (e.g. narcotics with alcohol with gambling).
Will NC4H focus solely on those living on the streets?
Mostly yes. There is a great need for this and, through the Denis Hurley Centre and others, we already have an insight into this problem. This will not, however, exclude worthy cases who are not on the streets.
What other criteria will be used to select candidates?
The principal one will be whether they are ready and willing to recover. But we will also look for people who have family or friends who are not users and are able to support them (emotionally) through this process and provide ‘light at the end of the tunnel’. We will also focus on those in the 18-35 age group and only men (at least to begin with, given the practical limits of the site). We will be open to Zulu and English speakers alike, to South Africans and foreign nationals, and to people with other related mental health problems.
Because we believe we are providing a new approach, we would accept people who have been on previous programmes and, while we would not allow repeated returns, we would tolerate some degree of relapse and forgiveness within the programme.
How much will it cost to set up the site?
The site has cost nothing since a long lease on the land and buildings has been granted to NC4H by the Archdiocese of Durban at only nominal cost and this has saved tens of millions of rand in fundraising. The refurbishment of the initial buildings has cost close to R1million and has been funded entirely by one generous donor. This has also included upgrading the water collection and storage facilities on site and adapting buildings that will be sharedwith the parish. We anticipate that refurbishment of the whole site will end up costing several million more – which includes the benefit of using NC4H guests as trained labourers as part of their vocational skills programme.
How much will it cost per month or per person to run the programme?
We have looked at the component costs in terms of staffing, utilities, food, skills training, counselling etc. Our very rough estimate is that it would cost between R6,500 and R7,000 per guest per month (and this is comparable to what is spent at other private facilities). A full complement of 14 in our first cohort would thus cost just under R100,000 per month or R1.1 million per year. Once we got up to a full complement of 40 people on site we would be looking at a budget of over R3 million per year.
We hope that some of these would be defrayed through donations in kind e.g. volunteer counsellors working at the site. But we clearly it is key that the Department of Social Development partner on this programme to help cover the on-going costs. The alternative, which is to spend money on arresting and imprisoning people, is much more expensive and has almost no long-term benefit.
How many people will you be able to accommodate?
The first building that has been refurbished can accommodate 14 guests. The plan would be eventually to have three cohorts of 10-15 on-site at any one time in different stages of recovery. Those just arriving would thus see that there was a chance of progression and development within NC4H. So a maximum capacity of about 40 (plus staff) is envisaged.
When will NC4H start operating?
Although we already have one building in a habitable state, we still need to raise enough funds to know we can run the programme. We thus envisage taking the first guests in early 2018.