The Salt River Resident’s Association (SRRA) is mobilising the community to support their fight against drugs.
At the end of last month, the SRRA launched the Salt River Drug-Free by 2030 programme.
SRRA executive member Sulaiman Appoles says being a drug-free neighbourhood has been their goal for many years.
“Salt River like many neighbourhoods suffer drug abuse from generation to generation, where the young drug users simply replaces the older drug addict.”
Mr Appoles says the Salt River community has been impacted by the scourge of drug abuse and drug dealing for the past 50 years and it will continue for another 50 years if nothing is done about it.
“Anecdotal research suggests residents believe drug addiction is a key reason for poor school performance, school drop outs, petty crime, cable theft, violence in the home, family abandonment, unemployment, homelessness, vagrancy, and also the prostitution in the area,” he says.
In order for this Drug-Free by 2030 programme to succeed, the SRRA will strengthen their network to work with other organisations and branches of government. “These include social development agencies of the City and Province, rehabilitation centres, religious bodies, sports bodies, medical and psychiatric treatment centres, non-government organisations and of course families that need assistance,” says Mr Appoles.
“We can’t afford another generation to be lost to drugs and the hell it wreaks in families and communities. Beyond lives directly lost, there is loss of quality of life in families and communities.”
The SRRA held a 6km walk on Heritage Day, Saturday September 24, joined by around 100 people from Salt River to raise awareness on drug use and drug abuse.
Trauma counsellor, Haneem Smith from an Athlone-based psychological first-aid company, says their company will support this initiative.
Ms Smith says her company deals with addiction and sobriety with the client. “I like that the community took this initiative to make plans to end this drug problem.”
Ms Smith, who is a former Salt River resident, says she has seen how the area has transformed through the impact of drugs and prostitution. “We will work together to find solutions,” she says.
Ward 57 councillor Yusuf Mohamed says he is proud to partner with the SRRA who have decided to challenge this issue head on. “Historically the Salt River community has always been a warm hearted community. One of the greatest challenges facing the current generation is the plague by substance abuse,” he says.
Mr Appoles says their organisation has already started with the recruitment of interested volunteers as counsellors and they are connecting with people from the court system, rehabilitation and hospital treatment centres.
