Aarhus reaches out to khat addicts

Transcription

1 Somali residents in Denmark show good results in their effort to help Somali khat addicts kick their addiction to chewing the euphoriant khat leaves. Aarhus reaches out to khat addicts Their shared language and culture furthers the process and with that also the hope for a better future. Aarhus Municipality Department of Social Services

2 In order to treat everyone the same we have to treat everyone differently. We need to listen to and understand each In order to treat everyone the same we have to treat everyone differently. individual we encounter, says Lissi Jensen, social worker and manager of IFTIIN. IFTIIN is the Somali term for hope and it is an outreach programme in the field of social psychiatry in the Municipality of Aarhus, Denmark directed towards Somali nationals suffering from khat addiction often in combination with psychiatric problems and abuse of other substances. Having worked as in-house support staff in Gellerup 1 the suburb with the largest khat problem Lissi Jensen took part in describing the IFTIIN concept. The concept is based on work focused on contact and outreach work within the environment in which Lissi Jensen herself had experienced how difficult it was to make contact with the khat chewing Somalis with psychiatric problems. Based in an apartment in Gellerupparken 2 in surburban Aarhus five to six Somali employees from the field of social psychiatry work with identifying khat addicts and introducing them to relevant services and offers. Many of them have dual diagnoses and have become ostracized from both the Somali community and the Danish society. 1 Gellerup is a suburb to Aarhus in which the population has a high percentage of refugees and immigrants. 2 Gellerupparken is a housing sector in the center of the suburb.

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4 IFTIIN was launched on May 6th 2008 and is founded to run till the end of In this time period the employees must establish contact with the addicts and render probable that their methods yield results. At the same time they must gather the necessary professional qualifications and credibility, and also establish a good reputation in the Somali community. Today khat is a commonly accepted intoxicant in Somalia, just as alcohol is in Denmark. And in the same way there is a fine line between use and abuse. A significant number of Somalis have become khat addicts during the time they have spent in militias where it makes it possible for them to survive. In Denmark the abuse becomes a way of self-medicating in order to cope with untreated psychiatric difficulties. The typical daily dosage is one kilo and the chewing is often accompanied by both physical and social problems. A method of hope and ideals The effort requires visible interaction between Somali and Danish employees. If we are to integrate and include, it must go both ways. When we work hand in hand as a team it sends an important signal to the people we work with, says Lissi Jensen. The Somali employees have provided knowledge of the community and the individuals to the project. In IFTIIN they know who chews khat and those who chew khat knows that they know. So there is no use in lying. Every day the employees make use of their many years of knowing their fellow

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6 countrymen when they establish new relations and help the users of the project learn to understand the society that they now live in. They are not sent into the field alone. There is always a coach on the sidelines, supervision, support, and training. The group receives external supervision from a therapist with substance abuse experience from the field of forensic psychiatry. The employees feel that not all Somalis necessarily should be met by Somali employees. It depends on how well integrated they are and whether it is possible for them to show faith and confidence in ethnic Danes. But language and culture becomes particularly important in those cases involving both psychiatry, substance abuse, trauma, and ostracism. They often imagine that they have no options in the Danish society. We provide hope and act as a sort of role model when our users see that we have jobs and good lifes, says Zam Zam Ali.

7 Even though it shouldn t be like that, it is just easier to relax when you re in the company of someone with the same skin colour. Do you understand what I mean?, asks Zam Zam Ali, social and health service assistant. Saleban Yusof, employee in the field of social psychiatry, makes contact with and builds trust from his fellow countrymen through the means of informal conversations and lots of tea in Bazar Vest 3. Zam Zam Ali, Lissi Jensen, and Saleban Yusof at one of their numerous visits in Bazar Vest where they do outreach work to get in touch with Somalis that chew khat and to tell them about the services that they can offer and also what the consequences of khat are. Not my children I used to chew khat every day and I became a dealer to make money to live on. I was not eligible for cash benefits, had lost my job and had no contact with my children. I spent all my time chewing and selling khat, explains 33-year-old Faizal Mohammed from Somalia Now Faizal Mohammed has decided to get clean. He has re-established contact with his 4 children aged 12, 7, 6, and 2 which he lost contact with when his whole life was centred on khat. And he is happy. 3 Bazar Vest is a local shopping center. It is a private integration and employment project that started as a kind of marketplace selling fruit, vegetables, and other goods in Today it has evolved to somewhat of a tourist attrac tion. More than 300 people work there in approximately 68 shops.

8 I don t like my children seeing me chew khat. They should look up to me their father and I would like to help them. They shouldn t do as I have done, and if they see me like that they might also begin to chew, says Faizal Mohammed. After 4 years of khat and alcohol abuse, Faizal Mohammed is now trying to get clean and sober. Today he chews less than what he used to but he is still not clean. It is The best thing is that I am once again in control of my own life. I m beginning to think about the future and I have gained a sense of hope. difficult when he still has no place to live and still frequents the same community. But he is determined to get clean; he is in treatment and in therapy with a psychologist in IFTIIN to treat his addiction. On May 1st he moves in to an interim apartment which he will be sharing with two others. The best thing is that I am once again in control of my own life. I m beginning to think about the future and I have gained a sense of hope. I would like to work again. Maybe get a driving license and become a taxi driver, he says.

9 I knew I had a problem Faizal Mohammed joined IFTIIN after Dalmar Ali Hassan contacted him in Bazar Vest. Faizal already knew Dalmar from the Somali community in Aarhus where Faizal had lived for 8 years. It wasn t a municipal employee who came up to him that day it was a friend. I was lucky to be offered help, says Faizal Mohammed. I knew I had a problem and had already started to consider my life. I was ready to accept help. Faizal joined a group for people addicted to khat. The group meets once a week with an employee from the substance abuse centre in the Municipality of Aarhus. In the group they discuss their problems and listen to each other. Faizal felt welcome because he was approached one day in Bazar Vest by another Somali who offered to help him. We know each other as friends; we speak Somali. It feels less like an institution and more like a friend when I m with Dalmar and the others, says Faizal. He thinks that there are many other addicts who wouldn t accept the offer of help if they were approached by a white female employee. We don t often talk to or spend time with Danes. So everybody would be curious if I sat down and talked to a Dane in the Bazar. If it is a fellow Somali they wouldn t notice and we speak in Somali so a lot of people don t understand what we are saying, says Faizal Mohammed.

10 IFTIIN s target group is isolated individuals of Somali ethnicity suffering from khat addiction. They have become social outcasts, they have limited qualifications, and often suffer from psychiatric disorders. They have lost family and close friends and have often been exposed to traumatic war-related traumas. Khat is comparable to amphetamine and 1 kilo equals about 0.08 grams of amphetamine. Typical consequences include: isolation and social ostracism, health issues, loss of appetite, and an impaired immune response. been trained by colleagues in the use of methods from the field of social psychiatry and they have attended the Municipality s own basic training programme in CARe. IFTIIN is in contact with approximately 100 individuals. 19 of them suffer from a psychiatric disorder and 6 have been ordered by the courts to undergo treatment. 27 is undergoing rehab and 7 have dropped out. The project runs from May 2008 till December The employees have been selected based on their personal qualifications and in addition to supervision and professional sparring they have

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12 Original author Iben Baadsgaard Al-Khalil Translated by Center for Social Innovation, the Department of Social Services, the Municipality of Aarhus, Denmark