CHENNAI: Ragged clothes, two syringes in the pocket and food packets strewn around. A man lay intoxicated on the road along the Perambur railway station stretch. The syringes were indicative that he was under the influence of a foreign drug. As pedestrians racing through the crosswalks and motorists whizzing past this reporter turned a blind eye, we asked the homeless man about his story. After a few minutes of hesitation, he opened up.
“I got addicted to drugs when I was in college. When my father, an autorickshaw driver, found out about it, he kicked me out of the house. For somebody who grew up in a conditioned environment until then, it was difficult to sustain outside. Other homeless friends of mine introduced me to drugs, and they make me feel better. I have nothing to lose.”
A few tablets for breakfast, powder for lunch and some alcohol for dinner. This is a regular diet in the lives of hundreds of homeless persons in the city. With no access to affordable de-addiction centres and lack of guardians to enrol them into a rehabilitation centre, they continue to descend deeper into drug addiction.
“I have been working with the homeless community for more than three decades now and I can confidently say, there is not even one proper de-addiction centre that caters to the homeless in the city. What’s worse is that the government has still not drafted any projects towards the cause,” says V Uma, founder, Suyam Charitable Trust.
A deadly habit
Explaining the increase in addiction to substance and drugs among the homeless, she says, “In the first place, most people become homeless due to addiction issues. They are sent out of their homes after they get addicted to a substance. In other cases, they turn towards drugs and alcohol to suppress hunger and pain. It is alarming to see that they have access to deadly drugs, of those we cannot even spell the names. They don’t just keep it to themselves, instead, they sell it to other youth. With this money, they buy more drugs. Also, they accompany others in crimes in the state of intoxication. This is an extremely serious issue that the government still has not woken up to.”
Most of them are mentally affected due to the circumstances in which they live. “Mental illness can cause an increase in substance indulgence. Whenever you take a substance, the brain releases dopamine and you feel a pleasure that is intense and addictive. Over a point of time, even if you want to take control over the substance, it will take control over you,” explains Dr Vivian Kapil, psychiatrist, Sri Ramachandra Medical Centre.
There are two major issues in the de-addiction aspect for the homeless — the centres do not admit a ‘homeless’ man/woman without a ‘guardian’ and even if they arrange for a guardian, they have to pay a hefty amount to join the centre — a minimum of Rs 20,000.
Turning them away
“A year ago in Ramapuram, I saw a woman under the influence of alcohol, lying naked on the road. We gave her clothes and tried taking her to a de-addiction centre. That was when we realised how difficult it is to help a homeless person who is addicted to substance, drugs or alcohol. Most of the centres refuse to enrol the homeless and others charge exorbitant fees. This is the reason NGOs too are unable to help the needy. I came across at least 300 such people last year and I could not do anything about it,” said Arul Raj, founder, Karunai Ullangal.
Another homeless man at Pallavaram said he had gone to a de-addiction centre but they did not admit him. “One of the NGOs who came here to give us food told me that they will enrol me in a shelter home if I stay clean. I tried for two days but went back to drugs after suffering severe stomach and headaches. So, I went to a de-addiction centre and they said they do not take in roadside people. Another friend of mine told government homes too are not very nice to the homeless,” he said.
While there is no exact data about the number of de-addiction centres, most of the centres in the city are run by NGOs. Also, there are no exclusive government rehabilitation centres — they are either merged with public health centres (PHC) or major government hospitals like Kilpauk Medical College, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and Stanley Medical College.
The issue is not with the centres but the government that hasn’t drafted any policy yet, says KNS Varadhan, chairman, Freedom Care. “If a centre takes in a patient without the guardian’s consent and if something happens to him/her, who will be held responsible? The doctors will be pulled into the controversy for no fault of theirs. Numerous centres don’t allow voluntary enrolments. The guardian must sign on behalf of them and the addiction centre authorities will pick up the patient from their home. The change must begin by framing a policy. Also, there is no adequate fund allocation for de-addiction,” said Varadhan.