Pubdate: Fri, 24 Dec 2004
Source: City Press (South Africa)
Copyright: 2004 City Press
Contact:  http://www.news24.com/City_Press/Home/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2963
Author: Marietie Louw
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

NEW REHAB CENTRE ON THE CARDS

Pretoria - A new rehabilitation centre for alcoholics and drug addicts
will be built in the Northern Cape soon.

The centre will fill the gap left by the Noupoort Christian Care
Centre, which will be forced to close its doors soon.

Celine Morolong of the department of social development in the
Northern Cape said the planning of the new centre was still in its
infant stages.

She was reluctant to confirm rumours that the centre would be situated
outside Kimberley.

"The centre will be built in a central part of the province," she
said.

It was also still unclear when construction of the centre was set to
start.

According to Morolong, the project was initiated by the Northern Cape
department of social development in co-operation with the provincial
government.

The extremely high levels of alcohol and drug abuse in the province
were the driving force behind the centre.

Treatment methods under fire

Morolong said the new centre would be able to accommodate 40 adults
and 20 children.

The centre will open its doors to addicts referred by a doctor or
social worker. Addicts, too, can approach the centre, themselves, for
help.

It is still not clear if patients from the Noupoort Christian Care
Centre will be transferred to the new rehab centre.

A report by the department of social development recommended in
October that Noupoort close its doors within six months.

This came after several incidents that resulted in bad publicity for
the Noupoort centre, and methods used to treat patients came under
fire specifically.

The contentious treatments came to light for the first time with the
death of Logan Klingenberg, a teenager from Pretoria.

He was found dead in a cell in 2001 with a chain around his
neck.
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MAP posted-by: Derek