He is barely fourteen years old, and he is already telling a story about his relationship with the world of drug addiction, which was heard by a journalist of this newspaper who was working on a publication a few days ago, which he shared with us and for which we appreciate.

Julio has been a drug user for two years and was trained to be a triggerman, that is, a hired robber. He is now in a Department of Public Health detox center, where he arrived on a court order, after being involved in a violent incident that caused several injuries in Durán, as he allegedly agreed to join a gang to get H. When the journalist asked him how he felt in that place, he replied that “for the first time he has a bed and a mattress to himself, that the bathrooms are clean and that he eats three meals a day”.

He adds that he is very busy because he is studying in virtual classes, since he was enrolled because he dropped out of school.

Julio has two more months of hospitalization until the end of treatment.

The question is what will he do when he returns to his environment? Can he continue in the virtual school, eat three meals a day, have a bed to himself and a clean bathroom? Can he dream of having them one day? Probably yes, you can dream, but it is also likely that the dream will turn into a nightmare.

In the same journalistic work that I referred to, it is pointed out that parents are looking for programs that teach them a trade, that prepare them to join the world of work, in order to maintain rehabilitation and prevent “when they leave, they start to wander and come back.”

A case is presented that reveals that it is necessary that there are opportunities for reintegration after rehabilitation. This is Fabiola, who is now 25 years old, she was rehabilitated four years ago and achieved reintegration by helping patients who come in search of a chance to save themselves.

(…) he says this with conviction: “I know what they are going through, I know how it feels and I try to support them.”

She, who used H, says this with conviction: “I know what they are going through, I know how it feels and I try to support them.”

Fabiola says that before the detoxification center was built in that same place, then full of weeds, she hid to consume H. She adds: “now I work here and help others. “Life can change.”

Yes, Fabiola is an example, but one case is not enough to show that there is an opportunity for reintegration for many others, hopefully for everyone.

It is necessary to respond to parents’ requests and multiply educational programs that prepare young people not only to save themselves, but also to join society as its useful member. There are institutions in the city that have this goal, but they are not enough. It is necessary not only to prepare those who have been rehabilitated, but also to create spaces that enable young people to develop their skills and abilities, follow their calling, set goals with enthusiasm and determination and work towards their realization. Follow your dreams, not giving the nightmare a chance. Show that life can change. (OR)