New Hope Centre, Shillong

Orientation Visit to
KJPA: NEW HOPE CENTRE
(Counselling Cum De-Addiction)
IGP, Central Ward, Shillong – 793 001, Meghalaya

 Orientation Date : 8th September 2011 (Thrusday)
 Time: 01.00PM to 03.00PM

Nature of Works:

Counselling, detoxification, therapy session, awareness, training, referrals, seminars, workshops etc

Brief History

The Foundation Stone of the New Hope Centre of Khasi Jiantia Presbyterian Assembly was laid by Dr. Dongkupar Roy, the then Hon’ble Chief Minister of Meghalaya on August 20, 2008. Mr Henry, the counsellor told us that this de-addiction centre was initially started as a counselling centre in 1994, They started accommodating inmates from December 1999.

Workers

Beside the centre co-ordinator, the New Hope Centre currently employ three counsellors, a nurse, one doctor, four yoga therapists and a residential counsellor.

The Inmates & Routine

At present, there are 20 inmates who are mainly alcoholics and drug addicts from different states in Northeast India. Once they are admitted, they have to undergo three months course of training otherwise extendable in various activities. They also have a regular daily routine to be followed. During the day they have to attend regular classes, such as input session, group therapy, group discussion, counselling and etc.

Twelve Principle Steps

Some of the recovered drug addicts and alcoholics contributed some kind of testimony from their experiences and out of these, the centre select 12 important steps that the inmates should agree to or accept in certain way. These steps are:

1. We admitted that we were powerless over Alcohol: that our Lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God to ourselves and to other human beings the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have god remove all these defeats of characters.
7. Humbly asked God to remove all our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and become willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so, would injure them or others.
10. Continue to make personal inventory and when we are wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with god as we understood Him : Praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had the spiritual awakening as a result of these steps we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Admission

1. Any alcoholic or a drug addict who is willing to change his life should approach the New Hope Centre with his own willingness, but not by any kind of force.
2. Admission fee is Rs.5000 only.

Learning

1. The admission process with “one’s willingness” is a good step towards changing one’s life. If a person is not willing and was force to undergo de-addiction process, there is less chance of recovery than those who are willing.
2. The centre does not restrict the inmates from any kind of strict rules, they leave it to their own consciousness, and this in fact is an important step to change one mature person.
3. While talking to one inmate, I come to know that he started taking drugs and alcohol due to too much leisure in his life. Therefore, misused of leisure time is too dangerous.
4. The inmates know that being an alcoholic and drug addict has no place in the family, society and the world they live.
5. They know that they were void of love and care as that of their fellow friends who are not drug users.

Over All Learning

A family or society where such a regretted drug users comes from should be educated the need to develop certain principles to help the one who is willing to change his lifestyle.

1. An empathetic attitudes and a communication with care.
2. Sense of acknowledgement with appreciation.
3. Spending valuable times together.
4. An appropriate time for sharing of feelings.
5. Willingness to forgive and forget to develop mutual trust.
6. Focus on the positive and nurture good feelings.

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Report Submitted by T. Zamlunmang Zou | MSW-I