Almost 250 substance abusing youth in Mabopane and Soshanguve have volunteered to be rehabilitated‚ with the help of state facilities.
This is according to the Gauteng Department of Social Development‚ which attributed this to its "hot spot" approach during which officials visit areas popular with substance users.
The hotspot targeting was first used last year in Goud Street and Hillbrow in Johannesburg. Hundreds of users who lived on the streets were taken to rehabilitation and many successfully completed the six weeks rehabilitation and after-care programmes and are now integrated into society‚ the department said in a statement.
“We are pleased that you have come on your own seeking help to end the scourge of substance abuse‚" Gauteng MEC for Social Development Nandi Mayathula-Khoza told substance users on Wednesday.
"The withdrawal symptoms are hard‚ hang in there and finish the rehab programme‚ (then you will be) on your way to recovery‚” she said.
Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi challenged them to grasp developmental programmes provided by government‚ such as Tshepo 500‚000‚ which are earmarked to train and create job opportunities for the youth. Many of the users who asked for help practice the new and deadly phenomenal called "Bluetooth"‚ a trend by nyaope users who resort to sharing 'a high by transfusion'‚ injecting the blood of an already drugged blood into another‚ using syringes.
The substance users were transported to various state funded drug rehabilitation centres across Gauteng. The group was screened for admissions by social workers and a medical doctor.
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