Reducing police and prison repression as a strategy for addiction recovery and drug use prevention in Belize can be effective; however, violence reduction requires additional investments as well.
Numerous institutions expressed an interest in mediation, creating a network for community dialogue and setting the groundwork for long-term sustainability. While much progress was made toward this end goal, inter-institutional challenges must still be faced to continue this work successfully.
How Belizean Communities Come Together to Support Individuals in Addiction Recovery
Belizeans face financial difficulty affording necessities like food, water, clothing, and shelter. While government programs exist to assist the poor, outside organizations and citizens are working tirelessly to address this problem head-on through initiatives such as affordable housing programs with rent subsidies; homelessness prevention efforts; and comprehensive poverty alleviation initiatives – making a real difference in people’s lives in Belize.
Housing affordability is especially pressing in Belize, where household income averages only $2,500 BZ monthly. A lack of affordable housing options coupled with rising living costs can force families into debt and homelessness; compounding the issue further is the fact that average rent amounts to approximately one-third of monthly wages; as a result, more Belizeans than ever before are struggling to secure suitable shelter.
Homelessness increases the risk of drug and gang involvement. Belize City ranks one of the highest worldwide in terms of teenage homicide rates related to gang violence; over 80 percent of teen murders there involve gang-related killings. Pervasive violence also threatens children’s well-being and academic performance.
Last year, to combat these challenges, Jesuits from the Central and Southern Provinces of the Society of Jesus teamed up with Saint Louis University and St. Martin de Porres Parish in Belize City to devise a multi-year plan that addresses education, economic development, and family care within its area. “Educating young people, encouraging health promotion programs, and nurturing all hearts and souls are at the core of any path forward,” according to Fr. Provincial Ron Mercier SM who joined Saint Louis University President Fred P. Pestello Ph.D. as well as Pastor Matt Ruhlmann to sign the compact Oct 21 at Saint Louis University.
The plan will involve several partnerships, with an initial project centered on education. The University of Belize educators and representatives of Belize’s Ministry of education will join local leaders in designing programs to strengthen teacher training and increase quality education, while a community development committee will collaborate with residents and organizations to establish programs designed to meet families’ basic needs for food and shelter.
A primary goal of the plan is to bolster citizen security by increasing police capabilities to combat organized crime and building capacity within government civil services and NGOs. Furthermore, this plan addresses border management needs as well as building the capacity of Belize’s military. In addition, the United States continues to aid Belize with efforts against illicit transnational organized crime such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, and other forms of transnational organized crime; additionally, it funds programming that seeks to strengthen civil society and ensure good governance.
Faith-Based Strategies to Improve Prison Conditions
Religion in Belize works collaboratively with the criminal justice system to address drug abuse and crime by creating reintegration programs for recently released prisoners, such as housing assistance, employment referrals, counseling support services, and financial support for families of incarcerated individuals. Some faith-based organizations also help maintain income from incarcerated individuals while not needing to work themselves.
One of the primary challenges to successful reintegration after release from prison is to ensure their safety, particularly those who have committed violent offenses. Some individuals could be perceived as threats by both members of their former criminal networks and family who might support them; the risk of violence increases further for those convicted of such offenses as murder or robbery.
Participants at the stakeholder consultation indicated a lack of funding for these services; they highlighted, however, their importance as programs needed to address gaps in criminal justice systems as well as provide community support to ex-offenders reintegrating back into society.
Consultation revealed that many volunteers working with these groups possess a deep spiritual purpose and desire to make positive contributions to their local communities. Unfortunately, however, training and support from their organizations is often inadequate and some organizations interviewed struggled to recruit volunteers, so new strategies for recruiting, training, and supporting volunteers must be devised.
Therefore, faith-based organizations in Belize must consider ways they can better integrate and strengthen their partnerships with government and non-governmental organizations in order to offer more comprehensive reintegration services. Further, the importance of spirituality and religiosity in addiction recovery should be acknowledged and supported. Incarcerated individuals can benefit from receiving advice and guidance from clergy such as imams, pastors, or rabbis when seeking to convert to religion while transitioning back into society after release from incarceration. This may help reduce re-offending rates and enhance prison conditions for those serving their sentences. At the same time, stakeholders must appreciate the complexity of volunteer motivation – how it varies based on gender, religion, prison population communities, and length of volunteer service experience. Understanding these complexities will allow prisons, faith communities, and third-sector agencies to recruit and train volunteers who are best equipped to help prisons reduce criminal behavior while supporting prisoner rehabilitation efforts. Educating these volunteers on prison issues will also ensure long-term sustainability of faith-based programs supporting prisoners who wish to end criminal behavior and seek rehabilitation.
Local Initiatives and Success Stories
Belize has developed, strengthened, and implemented coordination mechanisms for collecting, analyzing, disseminating, and accessing information regarding prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, recovery support, and social reintegration services available, accessible, and utilized by different target groups – including people who use drugs – in their general population as well as target subpopulations. Unfortunately, however, no continuous evaluation mechanisms exist within Belize for its demand reduction efforts.
Neither has the country implemented training programs to prepare prevention, early intervention, care, treatment, rehabilitation, and recovery service providers or specialized programs to address identified needs of a situational assessment. There are no regulatory measures or accreditation processes in place for prevention programs or treatment services, or systems to promote gender, age, community, or cultural context approaches to drug demand reduction.
Community stakeholders emphasized the significance of altering motivations, behaviors, and cognitions to help participants quit using illicit drugs. They acknowledged that current interventions such as community service, prayer sessions, and exercise programs (i.e. Zumba) as helpful diversions but insufficient. Some community members reported attrition after participating in diversion programs despite taking part; these findings point towards the need for an inclusive strategy addressing beliefs and values as well as behaviors.
Some community members reported being motivated to stop taking illicit drugs due to pressure from family and the desire to secure steady work, achieve education and career goals, and enhance health. Others pointed to the government’s war on drugs as motivation to quit using illicit substances – fearing being arrested or killed as consequences for their crime being the main driving factor behind their decision.
Community members were enthusiastic to train as addiction specialists or mentors to assist those attempting to help their family and friends stop using drugs and also demanded more resources and funding for drug diversion programs in their areas. Training provided an ideal platform for community stakeholders to meet one another and discuss any hurdles or difficulties they are experiencing in implementing drug demand reduction programs. Community stakeholders agreed to work collaboratively with law enforcement and to collaborate to guarantee participant and facilitator safety. Now, this program is being replicated across other communities. CICAD will hold its next training for community stakeholders on September 27, 2017. They will monitor the progress and implementation of national drug demand reduction policies; specifically, they will promote drug diversion initiatives that integrate components of holistic recovery-oriented models while engaging family and friends.
