DESPITE the scorching sunshine, hundreds of people still swarmed into the Shanghai Stadium late last week. They were not there to watch sports or enjoy concerts, but rather to compete for positions as "judicial social workers".

"We did not expect so many people to respond to our application announcement," said Tong Maohai from the Shanghai Self-reliance Social Services Centre. Pudong District, for example, only recruited about 20 of the applicants.

Registered last December, the Shanghai Self-reliance Social Services Centre aims to manage and assist drug addicts by mobilizing wider social forces.

Previously, China's anti-drug campaign mainly focused on cracking down on various behaviours involving drugs and providing anti-drug preventive education.

"As social workers, what we are doing is helping drug users restart their normal lives," Tong said.

Dealing with 'devils'

Since last year, 130 social workers have been at work developing the new services in four trial districts, including Zhabei, Luwan, Xuhui and Pudong.

With the help of residential communities and local police stations, social workers have tried to make contact with drug users, one person at a time.

"In the eyes of ordinary people, drug addicts are 'devils'," Tong said. "But we should realize that drug users belong to a vulnerable group."

Through their investigations, Tong and his colleagues have found that most drug users had no way to escape their problems, despite the fact that some of them used to be prosperous. They typically had no work and led unstable lives.

"They seldom receive understanding," Tong said. "As a result, drug users are regarded as 'a dangerous group' who are particularly likely to commit crimes."

Indeed, reducing the level of crime resulting from drug use is crucial for social stability. It is also one of the main challenges that social workers have to face.

Nearly all social workers have been through the experience of being rejected by drug users. "They do not answer calls, do not open doors, they even abuse on us," Tong recalled. To be a social worker trying to help drug users requires that one learns to endure these "annoyances". Usually, after many persistent attempts, the social workers would gradually establish a trusting relationship with drug users.

Returning to normal

Having devoted to the field of drug addiction treatment for eight years, Du Xinzhong said that drug users usually had a strong psychological dependence on drugs, especially after they had formed an "abnormal life".

Du was from the Compulsory Detoxification Clinic of Jinhua Police Bureau located in East China's Zhejiang Province.

"Medical treatment can help drug users get through the difficult periods during the detoxification process, but it does not mean they are totally recovered," Du said. According to Du, taking positive steps and offering social help for drug users was even more important after they had left hospital.

Given the different situation each drug user found themselves in, different procedures should be taken in each case.

For instance, Yuan Zheng, a social worker from the Pudong District, used to meet with a drug user who suffered from strong feelings of resentment.

During their talks, Yuan found that this drug user had lived separately from his wife for many years because of his serious drug addiction. The unhappy family life made this drug user lose all confidence in himself. He told Yuan that his wife was his only hope in life.

In order to help him to regain his self-confidence, Yuan visited his wife and persuaded her to co-operate with him.

At the same time, Yuan encouraged the drug user to find a job by taking advantage of his strong points.

On New Year's Eve last year, his wife finally invited him to return home to have a family re-union dinner.

"To get rid of psychological addiction is a long and difficult process," Tong said. The participation of wider social forces had an important role to play in helping drug users to restart their normal lives.

Self-reliance

In addition to the Shanghai Self-reliance Social Services Centre, another two social organizations - the Sunshine Community Youth Service Centre and the Xinhang Social Work Centre have also been established to participate in anti-drug activities.

According to the latest statistics from the Shanghai Municipal Anti-drug Commission, the number of registered drug users in Shanghai has reached 17,000. In comparison to the previous year, the number had crept upwards, with the proportion of young drug users growing the fastest, said an insider from the Shanghai Municipal Anti-drug Commission.

"To strengthen anti-drug preventive education among people, especially young people, is a basic way to make people realize the importance of resisting drugs," Du from the compulsory detoxification clinic said.

In his work, Du found that most drug users did not know about the harm caused by drug use. Some of them did not even know what drugs were before taking them.

"The role that social workers play is just like a supporting prop," Tong said. "Drug users have to depend on their own strength to begin their new lives. What we are doing is giving them encouragement and trust."

From the establishment of the profession up to today, social workers have made considerable progresses. They have developed anti-drug education in communities, carried out regular urine tests for drug users and provided them with psychological help and job training.

Community anti-drug activity has not just been limited to the four trial districts. It has also been spread widely throughout the whole of Shanghai.

"That is why we have had to recruit more social workers to join us," Tong said.