Verdun House
Who We Are
The Substance Abuse Foundation Inc. (SAF) is a registered charity of Barbados. The SAF was established in 1996 by a group of concerned citizens who recognised the need to provide a safe and secure environment for the treatment of individuals and families whose lives had been devastated by alcohol and drug dependency. The SAF owns and operates Verdun House, a 90-day abstinence-based, 12 Step-oriented residential treatment programme, a halfway house programme where the clients live on the property and begin the process of integration back into society and a family programme geared to heal the broken and strained relationships with an addict member and preparing the family as a unit to effectively support the recovery process.Verdun House already recognised as a centre of excellence in the region, was opened in June, 2000. Verdun House is accredited by EATA (European Association for the Treatment of Addictions) as of 21 August 2009.
What We Do
Our role is to provide a full continuum of services dedicated to assisting individuals to recover from the physical, emotional and spiritual devastation caused by addiction. Verdun House also sees itself as playing a critical role in combating the stigma associated with addiction is a disease that to this day, is seriously misunderstood.
WHAT IS ADDICTION?
Addiction is a chronic, progressive, primary illness with genetic, psycho/social and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestation. People who are addicted cannot control their need for alcohol or other drugs, even in the face of negative health, social or legal consequences. This lack of control is the result of alcohol- or drug-induced changes in the brain. Those changes, in turn, cause behaviour changes.