Three months ago, Reuben Chong relocated to Saipan from his home in Hawaii to embark on a pioneering journey to helping others struggling with addiction.<\/p>\n
As a substance abuse counselor and a clinical social worker, Chong was inspired by Gov. Ralph DLG Torres\u2019 commitment to address the island\u2019s increasing drug problem through the HOPE recovery center.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem with addiction is that it is an unseen emotion. It\u2019s the spirit and the mind. We have participants who are looking for belonging. They are looking for a sense that they\u2019ll be okay. I believe that human life has meaning and that has transitioned into my work,\u201d Chong said.<\/p>\n
A rehabilitation center in the CNMI has never existed before but now it does. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe key to all this is education, in order to create a better life, no matter how long it takes. We provide information to build life skills and knowledge. At the end of the day, you are the expert on you. As a provider of services, I have to navigate that grayness. It is only when you leave these gates that true treatment begins,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
According to Torres, addressing the issue of addiction requires a dedicated facility for initial, immediate and long-term care.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the establishment of the Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation program and funding for a drug court, we knew that we needed licensed clinicians and counselors at the forefront of addressing substance abuse and eventually other social issues that have plagued our Commonwealth for decades. It truly is a pioneering program, that I believe is the best investment in our people and in our future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Chong noted that there has been positive progress in the program, with 100 percent compliance in drug results.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been in this profession for several years, and you never really get to see the end result. I look at us as the pioneers of the recovery movement, and it took a lot of adjusting in terms of gauging the mindset of others,\u201d Chong said.<\/p>\n
He said that truly believing in something creates an emotional shift.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been exciting, electrifying, stressful, but hopeful,\u201d he said, adding that he was shocked to see how so many first responders struggle with addiction, along with other members of the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we\u2019re all on the same level. I\u2019ve been busted before. I know the system from both sides. We can understand the same language, and addicts are looking for a community to belong to. A way to forget all their problems. And even after removing the drug, they are still trying to fill a void. I want them to feel and know that today, you don\u2019t have to use drugs to feel complete,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Participants have started with the mindset that drug use such as drinking alcohol is part of one\u2019s culture instead of being just a social activity. Chong said that many who join the program eventually re-evaluate the value of their recovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a paradigm shift in terms of traditions becoming culture. We judge ourselves by our intentions, and others judge us by our actions. What we try to do is use the resources to create a substance prevention mindset. I use a cognitive behavior approach, but the work is not easy. We are looking at the world with a different lens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Chong said his personal upbringing and journey have enabled him to help clients open up.<\/p>\n
To those struggling with addiction, he said, life is too short.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe in wherever you go, there you are. The world is getting more complex, more compact, even more so if you have an addiction. I have been through this same journey, and you don\u2019t want to walk on that side of the street, when we can walk on the other side together. Everyone has earned a place on Earth by virtue of being human. Life is too short and the choice we have to make is do we want to change or do we want to continue down this path,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
As a baby, Chong was adopted and then was given up as a toddler and raised by the state of Hawaii.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a latchkey kid and once I turned 17, I joined the military. After I got out, I never felt like I belonged. I never got it the first time, the second, or the third but I knew I wanted to change. Imagine, I was a high school dropout and now I have my master\u2019s degree. Life is precious, and you can\u2019t waste it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The overall vision for the HOPE recovery center in Marpi is to have a sustaining facility that treats men and women as in-patients and outpatients.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want to change the CNMI, you have to change communities. You have to reach individuals, and you need to reach their families,\u201d Chong said.<\/p>\n
Yvette R. Sablan, the special assistant for Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation, said that Chong comes to the Commonwealth at a critical time with years of education and expertise.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo far, the participants have been pleased with him and I am grateful that he had made the decision to leave his home and to give to a community that is not of his own, but of a community that he can relate and engage with as he works on establishing and building that sense of belonging with and for them. The SAR program is hugely appreciative of his passion and untiring commitment,\u201d Sablan said.<\/p>\n
The HOPE recovery center is currently renovating more buildings and is staffed 24 hours with counselors or behavioral health technicians, with participants from the general public. <\/p>\n
The center houses eight participants, with ongoing plans for the center\u2019s expansion.<\/p>\n
For more information or help, call 323-7277\/78. (PR)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Three months ago, Reuben Chong relocated to Saipan from his home in Hawaii to embark…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[26,37,18032,21],"class_list":["post-264656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news","tag-cnmi","tag-education-2","tag-hope","tag-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264656\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}