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At the outset the group went through a 'soul-searching' process. The question "What is healing?" is often hard to answer, and it is particularly difficult when working with people who are so emotionally damaged. In the end we decided that our aim should be to counsel people individually, to support them in making decisions about their drug use, and to offer homoeopathic treatment as an option to address their various health problems. |
Once we had started treatment it became clear that we needed immediate access to homoeopathic remedies in order to work effectively. This problem was solved when some homeopaths donated drops from their own stocks of potentised remedies, which, together with a donation of lactose pellets, became the basic equipment of the dispensary we opened in the DTES. There were also fundraising activities intended to enable the purchase of further medicines and other necessities.
When deciding which remedies to acquire for the DTES dispensary, we originally thought of remedies from the Solanaceae family, and after reading Gabor Mate we decided to also obtain lac remedies and spider remedies, as well as first-aid remedies. However, over the last two and a half years we have found that in our DTES practice we do not prescribe the Solanaceae remedies, the spider remedies and the lacs any more often than they are prescribed in other homoeopathic practices. As for potencies, we give our homoeopathic remedies in C potencies or LM potencies and the Schuessler salts in D potencies – of course always tailored individually to the patient.
Many of our patients are already taking a range of prescription medicines (e.g. methadone) for their many illnesses - including hepatitis C, HIV, AIDS, asthma, bronchitis, depression and sleep disorders - and yet patients still respond to homoeopathic remedies! What I notice is that the remedies often need to be given more frequently; therefore it is not unusual for us to see the same patient every 1–2 weeks and to repeat or change the remedy at follow-up. Patients are often in such an intense and rapidly progressing state that it seems as if the remedy 'burns out'. We often prescribe the remedies as dilutions, and if distilled water is not available the remedies are dissolved in water bottles and sipped throughout the day. This method works very well under the circumstances.
Since 2009 two homeopaths have offered treatment/support each week at three different locations in the DTES. The challenges at each site are different. In extreme cases the homeopaths see patients who are under the influence of one or more drugs and come for acute care. In such cases it is not easy to distinguish which symptoms are due to the effects of the drugs and which are individual. This clinic is open to everyone; therefore some people who do not have drug or alcohol problems also come: in such cases poverty is usually the main factor affecting their health and their decisions.
At another clinic homeopaths treat patients who are detoxing; acute care is provided, but in some cases a constitutional treatment is also possible. An important aspect here is that the patients have voluntarily chosen detox and are therefore 'ready for change'.
A challenge at both sites is continuity of care. It is often difficult - but not impossible - to have regular follow-ups. Without such regularity and organisation one cannot judge whether the remedy has worked. At a third location women who have lived on the streets for years now live in their own rooms and receive food and medical care. For them this is the best home they have had for a long time. Here the women have completed a full detox and are now in the process of understanding why they ended up on the streets. Sometimes they relapse and must return to detox for a while before they can go back to their own rooms. Most of these women were abused and neglected as children and adults. Here we see the deep scars created by violence and neglect passed down from generation to generation - and yet these people have the will to change.
One prerequisite for being allowed to stay at this place is that the women follow strict rules and must participate each week in a certain number of programmes - for example anger management, counselling, homoeopathy or yoga - and in return they receive pocket money for personal needs. Here there is more continuity of care and regular follow-ups; therefore it is easier to determine how the remedies have worked. Under these circumstances constitutional remedies can also more readily be prescribed, rather than having to labouriously respond only to acute conditions.
Regardless of the place of treatment, the patients are happy and grateful to be listened to unconditionally. It is often the first time someone has sat down with them and listened attentively and without prejudice. Sometimes we have only 15 minutes before the patient has to leave; at other times we can afford the luxury of spending two hours with someone. We prescribe according to what we see in front of us, because that is all we have and our goal is to support the individual patient.
Interestingly it becomes quite easy to determine which remedy the patient needs once they are no longer under the influence of drugs. There is no compensation and no façade any more, their suffering stands before us unvarnished - and sometimes they even seem to know the keynote symptoms of their remedy! But of course they are not consciously aware of them: it is the source that speaks through them.
The medical conditions we are talking about are in part a consequence of drug abuse; for example people on crystal meth (methylamphetamine) often lose their teeth, and they come to us because they have pain after a tooth extraction. Another example is chronic debilitating constipation as a side-effect of methadone. It has proved very difficult to treat this problem purely homoeopathically. We also often treat convalescents who were run over by cars or fell from buildings while under the influence of various drugs.
Aside from complaints that are a direct consequence of their lifestyle, people also come to us with chronic pain - which was one of the reasons some began using drugs and ended up on the streets. We treat people with abscesses as well as systemic and chronic bacterial infections, some of whom have been taking antibiotics continuously for two years (!) - nevertheless the infection can be successfully treated homoeopathically, for example with Silicea. Other health problems we treat include chronic mental illness, digestive disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, ingrown toenails and insomnia. As for insomnia - when you live on the street it is hard to sleep at night - there is always the fear of being attacked. Even when those affected are later living in their own rooms, this fear persists; it takes a long time for such fear to heal.
What surprises are concerned: I once had a patient who came because of morning sickness; when it emerged that she was pregnant she was very surprised, because she had thought that with her lifestyle she would never have children. |
The patients are very grateful for the homoeopathic treatment. We have observed that women and men begin to make healthier choices for themselves. Interestingly, the therapists have found that after homoeopathic treatment patients are more able to talk about their problems and to work through traumas that they had not previously dared to confront. Their minds have become clearer, and we can now make progress in other ways as well.
In summary, it is an honour to work as a volunteer homoeopath in the Downtown Eastside. It humbles us to see that these people, despite all the trauma, abuse and suffering they have endured, are still alive - and that homoeopathic remedies still work well and help them on their way. |
