NDACC reaches out to San Pedro’s addicts

The National Drug Abuse Control Council (NDACC) now offers service to residents of San Pedro. While the service is offered sporadically, once or twice a month, it is yet another source of assistance for individuals at risk or suffering from drug abuse.

The San Pedro Sun spoke with Kristina Romero, drug educator for San Pedro and Caye Caulker. She informed us that the NDACC is an office under the Ministry of Health and deals with drug prevention education. “We have two units, we have the schools and community program, and that is the one that I fall under, as a drug educator. As part of my duties I go into schools to teach about the harmful effect of drug use, abuse or misuse of prescription drugs as well as legal and illegal drugs.”

While there is not a permanent office at the moment, Kristina visits the island once or twice a month for one to two weeks at a time. Apart from providing educational services to the schools, Kristina works hand in hand with their outreach case worker Joyce Ellis. Once an individual is identified as having a drug problem, that individual is referred to Joyce, who works closely with the addict and families in locating good rehab centers for them.

In San Pedro the officers work out of the San Pedro Town Council building, in a shared office with the Human Development Officer. There are plans in the near future to have a fully functional office here in San Pedro that will work with clients from both San Pedro and Caye Caulker.
Services offered by the office are completely free of cost and available to everyone. In Belize City, the office of the NDACC is located at #25 Amara Avenue and may be reached at 227-0528. While in San Pedro, Kristina may be contacted by dialing 607-0029.