San Pedro Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute (SPADAI) is an organization here on the island working arduously to help those with a drug and alcohol addiction to recover from their addictions and become better productive citizens.
One of the most recent projects that the group has carried out is picking up of loafers (most with an alcohol addiction) who are in public places. SPADAI along with the San Pedro Police and Councilor Wally Nuñez are doing this to clean up the island for the betterment of the community and to help these people with addictions.
Currently SPADAI takes these men/women with addictions and sends them to either to Remar in Belize City or to rehab center in Mexico called Milagro. Although there are traditional support groups such as Alcoholic Anonymous here on the island there is no rehabilitation center for them to keep these people here and offer support and help them to recover from their addiction.
Councilor Gabriel Nuñez and the San Pedro Town Council are working on getting the official deed for a piece of land located on the south end of the DFC Area near the Marina for SPADAI to open a rehab center here on the island.
SPADAI has partnered with Mrs. Annnete Elridge of Community of Hope Inc. of Norwich, Connecticut, and have plans on constructing a House of Hope that will be used to help people recover from their addiction. In this house there are plans on having dorms for both men and women, to give them support, bible studies, life skills classes and help them become productive citizens of this island.
Mrs. Elridge through Community of Hope Inc. will be providing some financial help and structure supplies for the construction of the rehab center. SPADAI is asking the community for contributions towards the building of this rehab center.
“All sorts of contributions are accepted; nothing is too little and everything will be accepted,” commented Freddie Gonzalez Jr., Executive Director of SPADAI. “We are accepting monetary donations as well as the donation of materials for the construction of the house.”
SPADAI will also be working hand in hand with the traditional groups such as Alcoholic Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous to help all those in need. For more information on this project or for donations kindly contact Freddie Gonzalez Jr. at 604-0949 or email at freddieg2008@yahoo.com or email SPADAI.BZ@gmail.com.
