Pentecostal Assembly of the World (PAW) says it intends to establish a rehabilitation center to cater to at-risk youth in the country.
According to Bishop Dr. Leo M. Simpson of the 35th District of the Pentecostal Assembly of the World West African Region, the center, which will be established at the Samuel Grimes Memorial High School in Kakata, Margibi County, will partner with the A.M. Kyne Collegiate Resource Center to rehabilitate drug addiction.
Bishop Simpson stated that a group of friends from the United States of America are expected to arrive in Liberia next Month to make available the initial fund to sustain the program.
He noted that drug addiction poses serious threat to the youthful population of the nation, and there is a need to alleviate this problem across the country.
According to him, the rehabilitation center will ensure that drug-addicted youth receive the necessary treatment and counseling to stabilize them.
Bishop Dr. Simpson made the disclosure Wednesday when he addressed journalists at his office on the Old Road.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the A.M. Kyne Collegiate Resource Center, Adam M. Kyne, said the partnership with PAW to rehabilitate disadvantaged youth in the Samuel Grimes Memorial High School will not be institutionalized because, according to him, institutionalizing drug addicted youth is out-dated.
He noted that drug-addicted people are traumatized and need counseling, rather than stationing them in institutions.
He indicated that drug addiction is a brain disease, which needs special attention.
Kyne pointed out that it is estimated that 100,000 youth in Liberia are faced with drug addiction, and if the situation is not tackled adequately it could create serious threat for the nation.
According to him, beginning August 15, 2022 his organization will embark on an intensive 10-day training concerning the method of rehabilitating drug-addicted youth in Kakata, Margibi County.
Director Kyne emphasized that the training will involve people from the community, and will endeavor to help them to understand when somebody has fallen to drug addiction.
He maintained that Liberians need to understand that drug addiction is a brain disease that disadvantage youth need to recover from, rather than being ignored.
He asserted that partnership and collaboration with other organizations are important in battling drug addiction in the society, and that government alone cannot address the rehabilitation of addicted youth.