Halfway house needs help from community
Bridge Foundation Project from Michaela on Vimeo.
(CNS): The Bridge Foundation, which helps men and women recovering from drug and alcohol addiction, is seeking support from the community to continue with its work. Residents of the facilities are referred to the charity from the Parole Board, Probation, Drug Court, Caribbean Haven or the Counselling Centre with the goal of transitioning those in recovery back into society. The charity has produced a video outlining the work it does and is hoping to solicit donations so it can continue helping those in need.
Despite the significant numbers of people suffering from addiction problems in Cayman and many individuals leaving prison after sentences connected to drug problems with nowhere to go, the halfway houses play an important rehabilitative role in the community.
Frank Volinsky Executive Director of the Bridge Foundation
Government has no formal halfway house programme and it is NGOs such as the Bridge Foundation that are providing the only transitional housing for addicts released from jail. However, the public purse gives only limited support.
With 75% of inmates at HMP Northward having substance abuse problems and little formal drug rehabilitation at the prison, around 70% of inmates released reoffend because they are not supported in their efforts to stay clean when they are returned to the community. While it costs government around $69,000 per inmate, per year at HMP Northward, the foundation received an annual payment of just $60,000 from the public purse this year. It requires $15,000 per month just to cover its basic costs and is therefore in desperate need of private donations.
The Bridge Foundation said that through transitional living environments, like their Anchor House, they can make a change, which in the long run can save government cash as it can keep people out of jail. In the absence of public funding to make that change, the charity remains dependent on support from the community for volunteers, financial help and other resources.
Visit the Bridge Foundation website
Bridge Foundation Project from Michaela on Vimeo
Category: Community
