IF there is one thing Beverly Morson understands about drug rehabilitation, it’s the importance of the continuum of support.
Morson is 33 years in recovery and one of the founders and programme director of Serenity Place Empowerment Centre for Women. She had has been part of the management team at the Guapo centre for over 28 years and sees it as her way of giving back.
“I went to New Life Ministries (rehab centre) to get my help when I decided to get clean,” she told WMN.
“At the time the centre for females was located in Mt St Benedict. While I was out there a lot of people reached out to help me, so I decided that I wanted to give back and this was the best way – helping women like myself who went through the same thing.”
She said the reintegration into societal living is not a short-term thing, as detoxing for some addicts can be a life-long process.
"In the continuum of support we’re supposed to have halfway house setting with programmes, not just a place to stay. There must be discipline.
"Our programme is based on readiness and not time. And that readiness is based on their participation in the programme, their full involvement, how well they present themselves, their punctuality, how they deal with confrontation, follow simple instructions, participate in everything that is happening.
"That differs from person to person because they all come from different walks of life. Each person moves at a different pace. That’s why we don’t put a time."
She said, for example, while three women may have been using drugs for 20 years, their ability to bounce back will differ.
[caption id="attachment_1119575" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Serenity Place Empowerment Centre for Women in Guapo, Trinidad is in need of repair. - Lincoln Holder[/caption]
"You will find that a woman who might have been living on the street for probably half her life may not be accustomed to flushing a toilet or making up a bed, so when she comes in here that may take her a longer than others to get her into that habit."
In 2010 Morson did an internship in therapeutic communities at a facility in Rhinebeck New York. She said she used the programme there as a template for the one used at Serenity Place, tweaking it to fit the local environment.
The programme starts at 6 am every day with "feet on the floor," followed by prayer circle, exercise/morning walk and departmental chores to which everyone is assigned.
"Breakfast is at 8 am, and this is followed by morning meeting which sets the pace for the day. The six women in residence get the opportunity to confront each other and pull up each other," in a respectful way.
"Then there are affirmations, during which they can sing, dance, recite a poem. They don’t go into the rest of the day angry."
Morson said the facility hosts a number of developmental workshops and Saturday night activities such as talent and fashion shows.
"Sometimes we have parties. This is our way of teaching them how to enjoy life without the use of drugs."
But although she finds great satisf
