Soon, a multifunctional day centre will be constructed on Statia. This centre will be used for clients with addiction problems and possibly psychiatrical relatedproblems.
According to Mr. Kenneth Cuvalay, who will be coordinating the care given at this facility. Some 20 to 25 persons on Statia have these problems.
The aim multifunctional Centre that is to be constructed, will get the long term drug addicted people off the street, give them a daily routine, manage their addiction
and to stabilize them as much as possible mentally and physically. Mr. Cuvalay explains about the relation between drug addiction and psychiatric disorder.
Long term addiction eventually will develop to be a disease and should be treated as such. Long term addiction can cause psychiatric disorders like psychoses, paranoia and panic attacks.
Not all people with psychiatrical problems use drugs. Mr. Kenneth Cuvalay explains drug addiction is not as simple as it is percieved by society. It is very difficult for
families to take care of their relatives who are long term addicted or have a mental disorder. People that suffer from a long term addiction loose their self respect,
dignity and humanity. It is important to regulate the drug use and to regain the self respect they lost. Mr. Cuvalay is now engaging in field research, targeting
the group he will work with.
Statianews talked to two of the clients. Both of them are enthousiastic about the opportunity and are happy to make use of this future facility. One of them already
has spoken to the psychiatrist at the hospital and the other one said he has spoken to the delegation that was here.
The treatment and help already started for a number of number of clients. Chris Boek, the psychiatrist who is responsible for setting up this specific care with his
team, already had consultations with some of the clients, like the one mentioned above. This specific care for drug addiction and possible related
psychiatrical disorders, which also will be started on Saba and Bonaire is lead by Chris Boek. He is a psychiatrist who will resides on Bonaire. He will work on the
three island in this particular field of healthcare.
Mr. Kenneth Cuvalay will not only be responsible for giving care, he will also give emphasis to prevention and create awareness of the effects and dangers and risks of (mis) using drugs and alcohol. Prevention is very important for the young people who are on the verge to experiment out of curiosity with drugs and alcohol.
Besides his professional training, Mr. Kenneth Cuvalay has years of experience in the psychiatric and drug addiction field. Before he was assigned for this job, he
worked in Tilburg in the Netherlands at one at "novadic—kentron", one of the largest drug addiction rehab institute in the Netherlands. A lot of the clients
he worked with had a double diagnosis. This means that beside their addiction, they also suffer from mental disorders, like anti social behavior, aggressive behavior,
psychoses, personality disorder, and so forth.