Communities help vulnerable drug addicts from relapsing(2)

In contrast to the loneliness of last year, he said this Spring Festival he received a gift of a bag of flour and a tub of cooking oil from the committee.

"I was so happy," he added. "I didn't expect anyone would ever care about me again."

Some cases are more difficult than others. Another recovering addict in the community, whom Hao identified only as Jin, had until recently consistently refused to sign up for the program.

"He would just shout at us or would fail to turn up to appointments," she said. "It was awkward. The agreement is compulsory, so all we could do was keep visiting his home and getting the rehab officers to contact him and try to change his mind."

They eventually succeeded, she said, but only after turning up at Jin's home during the National Day holiday with gifts for his daughter.

Long road ahead

Sunflower Community is just one of the projects nationwide based on requirements set out in the 2008 law revision. Guizhou province officials have launched a program that helps former drug users find full-time work.

For police and drug-control experts, the efforts are a major step forward in the global fight against narcotics. Beijing police alone handled more than 1,400 drug-related cases last year, detaining more than 1,400 suspects and seizing about 50 kilograms of narcotics.

"Drug addicts are patients too. We can't just punish them, we need to treat them," said Li Wenjun, a professor at the People's Public Security University of China.

Community support reinforces the work done in rehab centers, she said.

"With help finding job opportunities and gaining work skills, addicts can re-enter society. Plus, an addict is more likely to accept help from neighbors," Li said, adding that many were reluctant to accept help from police or court officials.

However, Chen Shuaifeng, a drug control expert at the university, said he feels community programs in China fall far short of what is needed to help more addicts stay clean.

"Many drug users simply refuse to sign up for these compulsory agreements, and some communities are failing to develop relationships with them," he said. "It's not practical to solve the problem this way."

According to Chen, even after time in a rehab center and with community support, more than 90 percent of addicts will go return to drugs.

"We need to focus more on giving them psychological and emotional help," he said. "That's the key."

Song Zhandong, a staff member at the Beijing Drug Rehabilitation Center who helps out with the program in Andingmen community, said many kinks still need to be ironed out in community workers' procedures.

He cited an example in which a colleague called a 30-year-old resident in the program to remind him about a forthcoming drug test. Unfortunately, he did not know the man was at work.

"His boss, previously unaware of his employee's drug problem, overheard the conversation and fired him on the spot," Song said. "The guy was furious with us for a long time. Up until then, he'd cooperated with us well, but that changed things."

The situation only improved after the office helped the man find a new job.

Community leader Hao said the case also made her rethink how to approach her work with recovering addicts.

"After all, they are in a more sensitive situation than ordinary people," she added. "We need to be more understanding."