MITCHELL’S PLAIN
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R1090
Promotion starts Tuesday 22 September to Sunday 27 September 2020 Lentegeur Shopping Centre, Cnr Merrydale Ave & Melkbostrand St, Lentegeur, Mitchells Plain
021 371 6056 TUESDAY 22 September 2020 | Tel: 021 910 6500 | Email: post@peoplespost.co.za | Website: www.peoplespost.co.za
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STRANDFONTEIN
Addiction can be beaten Shaun Filander now uses his past struggles to make a difference in his community. PHOTO: SAMANTHA LEE-JACOBS SAMANTHA LEE-JACOBS SAMANTHA.LEE@PEOPLESPOST.CO.ZA @SAMANTHA_LEE121
H
e has been making strides toward a cleaner, drug-free life for months now and part of that journey is helping others deal with their own battles. Shaun Filander from Strandfontein says he was addicted to “buttons” – Mandrax – for 15 years after just one hit. “I was in Grade 10, 15 years old and one day my cousin introduced it to me. We went on holiday to Robertson and he asked me (if I want to try it). I said ‘sure’ and from that day I was addicted for 15 years,” he says. Filander was on a downward spiral, having been arrested and imprisoned, disappointing his and hurting his family for many years. But it is never too late to make a difference, he says.
He has been clean for almost a year now, the longest he has managed to stay off drugs and acknowledges the struggles addicts face in staying clean. He had already previously relapsed, but has accepted this as part of his journey to healing and is determined to make this time different. “I have been to many rehabs. I have (attended 12 different rehabilitation programmes), but the last one this time was different. God changed my life. It is only through His grace that I am still here and clean today,” says Filander. With an addictive personality and fighting his drug addiction, Filander became a sex addict. “Addiction and sex addiction go hand-inhand. Because of my previous lifestyle, when I was at the mission camp in Malmesbury I discussed with my counsellor that I thought I was HIV-positive. I was bad, I was messed up. I slept with so many women without protection,” says Filander.
“I was scared. I prayed to God constantly asking him to save me because having this disease would mean I could not serve Him. I was constantly on my knees.” Filander tested negative at a mobile clinic and he felt it was a sign from God. “From that day, I knew God (had plans for me) and that I had a calling on my life.” Since then, Filander has been using his experience to help others. He is one of the members of Agents For Change who work with the Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre and Ethel’s Place to make a difference in the community. Some of the projects they have already participated in was packing and distribution of food parcels, revamping the Ethel’s Place premises and assisting in soup kitchens. Filander’s message is that drug addiction can affect anyone and that there is help and hope for addicts and families affected. Seeking support and help are the first steps
in achieving this. While he has been clean, it is still a daily battle, he says. He acknowledges how the lockdown has also affected addiction and could cause many to relapse. “During the lockdown period, it was difficult staying clean because of parties.” Filander says being surrounded by substances while on a recovery journey is one of the most difficult ventures for addicts and this is where they need the most support from their family and friends. “I still have friends and people I know who are using. But I am a grown man now and I have come to a point where I realised enough is enough. I cannot continue to live like this because if I did not stop, I would die,” he says. “It is not easy constantly being around substances and people who are using, but (I made this choice to get and stay clean),” he says. He hopes to use this, and be an inspiration to other users that change is not impossible.
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