Can art help transform drug users’ lives? A project in Dublin is proving that it can
AS YOU make your way into the grey, inner-city building you hear peals of laughter and the jaunty strains of a ukulele. The walls along the corridor are adorned with vibrant, colourful pieces of art.
Inside, actors on stage are declaiming loudly, with scripts in their hands.
Is this really the right address? I’m supposed to be visiting a therapeutic centre for recovering drug addicts.
You expect a gritty methadone clinic or drab drop-in centre. But not this. It feels more like an art school or Berlin-style exhibition space.
This building is the unlikely headquarters of Rade, or Recovery through Art, Drama and Education. Its philosophy is simple: it helps recovering drug users express themselves through art and, hopefully, progress onto a drug-free life.
Mostly, society’s views of drug addicts are overwhelmingly negative: they’re regarded as outcasts or “junkies”, casualties of the lost battle against drugs.
But in the six years the centre has been operating, its manager Michael Egan has seen a remarkable transformation in lives of people who, in many cases, have been written off by their communities and even their families.
“When people are labelled, they tend to accept those labels,” says Egan. “ If you keep being told you’re a nuisance and you’ve no contribution to make, then you believe it.
“But if you’ve first-hand evidence of your capacity to contribute, then you start to believe in yourself. ”
For participants, the days are filled with drama, art classes, creative writing, film-making, as well as access to more traditional therapies such as counselling.
It can be a powerful springboard for many to begin restoring their sense of self-esteem and to begin making something positive of their lives.
The differences are easy to spot, Egan says. Participants become visibly more confident and less self-conscious. They become more punctual, they dress better and develop a sense of teamwork.
If they don’t turn up for a rehearsal, for example, they’ll know they’ll have let everyone else down.
Jenna (26), from Ashbourne, Co Meath, is one of the participants who’s turning her life around. Just over a year ago she was still stumbling through the rough-and-tumble world of heroin addiction.
“Life was completely hectic,” she says. “I was begging on the streets, especially the Ha’Penny Bridge.
“People viewed you like dirt. I was spat at, pissed on, even during the day. You’d have trouble with other people begging.”
It was a dramatic fall in just a few short years. She had done well in her Leaving Cert, getting 420 points, but was drifting deeper and deeper into drugs. By night she was taking ecstasy in nightclubs and then heroin to come down.
Everyone else in her circle of friends was doing the same. When she began to develop mental health problems, she found herself in a steep, downward spiral.
A low point was on Christmas Eve night. As usual, she was begging on the Ha’Penny Bridge. Town, which had been bustling all day, was suddenly empty.
“Everything just shut down and I had nowhere to go,” Jenna recalls.
“All the shops were closed. There were no hostels, no nothing. I was so lonely and I just said to myself, ‘Never, never again’. Eventually, I got into treatment and got a referral to Rade.”
Since she joined last September she’s been clean. Some days are tougher than others. But having an outlet to express the feelings she used to bottle up inside has been crucial, she says.
“I’ve discovered a lot about myself. I love acting most of all. That was a real personal surprise. I’ve also been accepted onto a course in the Gaiety School of Acting. I love it. No one in there has a history of addiction, so it feels like a fresh start.
“I realise now that I was giving up on myself at the age of 25, which is crazy. The possibilities for someone like me are endless. I love it here and the weeks fly by.
“The future? I want to stay clean, develop my acting. There’s a lot to look forward to.”
Mostly these quiet transformations take place behind closed doors. But this week, Rade is due to throw open up its doors and show what its clients are capable of.
The centrepiece of its series of open days are drama sketches based on plays performed by members of the organisation over recent years.
Family members of participants, as well as members of the wider community, are being invited to view the plays.
“It’s a chance to be seen by your own family, giving something of value back into the community,” says Egan.
“For many, it’s one moment in their life when they get a chance to say, ‘I am somebody’. That can be a real inspiration to go on to do something positive later in life.”
Albert (34) is one of those due to take part. One of the sketches he’s involved in tells the story of “Johnny”, a homeless drug abuser who tries to get his life back together. It’s particularly resonant for him.
“A lot of his story reflects what I went through,” he says. “It feels surreal because I was on drugs for many years – gear, cocaine – and know what that was like. The character gets off drugs and works, and tries to get his girlfriend back, but it’s not easy.”
Albert is off drugs five years now. His main aim is to develop his creative writing. He hopes to go on and do a course in script-writing and eventually write for TV.
“When I was in my darkest time, I felt death was around the corner. I didn’t see any light. This, now, is the light I was looking for.
“You just have to believe in yourself. That’s my message to anyone who was in my situation. I’ve got a second chance, and I’ll grab it with both hands.”
Rade’s series of open days take place at 1pm daily from today until Friday, May 27th, at the OLV Building, Cathedral View Court, Off New Street, Dublin 8. For further information, see rade.ie.
