It has been said that it is best that a journalist never report on any story too near to his heart. He must remain objective and unbiased, without taking a side.
However, as someone who has struggled with alcoholism, drug addiction and mental health challenges, while living in the Cayman Islands and in Jamaica, I believe I have a unique insight on this topic.
I have been in group homes on both islands and I have seen the quality of care, and that is why I believe Cayman must hasten to open the Poinciana Rehabilitation Centre. It is long overdue.
I started drinking alcohol at age 17 and using cocaine at age 31. Today I am 100% alcohol and drug free.
Of course, I regret my past years of drinking and drugging. But going to rehab, prison and mental health facilities has eventually paid off for me.
How do I remain sober and clean? By daily surrendering my life to God. God has saved me. I see a psychiatrist once per month, a therapist twice per month, a probation officer at least once per month, but I talk to God every day.
Today I am living on Grand Cayman and doing quite well.
It hasn’t always been this way.
My time in Jamaica
After an overdose in 2018 on Cayman Brac, I was sent to Jamaica’s Community Group Home run by Dr. Wendell Abel for a six-month treatment, paid for by the Cayman Islands government.
I received treatment for addiction and mental health support.
Dr. Abel, who later became a friend, connected me to the Addiction Treatment Service Unit and to Rise Life. Both had a huge positive impact on my recovery.
I was able to thrive at the group home and, unlike some other residents, I was given a lot of freedom.
I was free to roam Kingston and I did just that. I was heavily involved in activities during my time at the group home. I volunteered three times per week teaching drama and using storytelling and music in therapy.
I also had the advantage of knowing I would only be there for six months.
That is not the case for everyone.
In my opinion, there are some Caymanians who are trapped there. Some have been there for over a decade and are barely allowed to leave the home.
They are caged in there, in my opinion. I have seen it.
I hope and pray that the mental health facility in East End will open soon and they will be able to come home.
The treatment in Jamaica worked, for me, only because I wanted it to work and I was fully compliant.
The only way not to return to active addiction is to not take a drink or a drug.
Relapse during COVID lockdown
I wish I could say the lessons I learned on that first trip to Jamaica had stuck.
But, alas, I relapsed after losing my tourism ambassador’s job during the pandemic and I engineered a return to Jamaica in July 2021. On that occasion, I should never have been sent there.
It was not needed and my motives were not pure. I wished to reconnect with a nurse that I had fallen in love with, and she too had fallen in love with me. It backfired and I found myself on the streets of Kingston.
I ended up in hospital on some strong medication. I wet my bed and cursed the doctor out really badly. I apologised to him recently on the phone – something I have had to do a lot since I got myself clean and sober.
The doctor sent me back to Cayman one week after I relapsed. He could not take the chance of having me roaming Kingston streets looking for crack.
As I have told, in a previous interview with the Compass, the misadventures of Quincy did not stop there. I was arrested on the Brac last year with a $10 crack rock. I had my last hit of cocaine on the day I went before the judge – 23 Nov. last year.
That was a turning point for me and I am determined now to play a positive role in helping others.
As I continue on my path of recovery, I hope to one day give back to the patients of the new mental health facility using drama in therapy sessions as I did in Jamaica as a volunteer.
Bring our people home
Community Group Homes-Jamaica has served Caymanians well, but it is time for our people to come home and for our people to be put to work in this wonderful new facility that has taken so long to build.
It was actually refreshing to take a drive out to picturesque East End last week to visit the campus of the new mental health facility. As a freelance media personality, I accompanied the Cayman Compass, which was doing a story on it.
We were able to get a brief glimpse of the serene surroundings before being politely asked to leave by a security guard.
In my opinion, it is an ideal location for any kind of therapy. It is quiet, peaceful and we heard little but birdsong and the hum of the air conditioning units.
I am not an expert or an engineer, but I can’t understand what the hold-up is. It seems as though, for too long in Cayman, mental health has not been a top priority. Our worst cases are shipped off to Jamaica – out of sight and out of mind.
We have the power to change that now; all we hear of is more delay.
I am very grateful to Dr. Abel and all those who helped me in Jamaica. But Cayman is a wealthy country and we can and must do better for our people
From my brief glimpse of Poinciana, it will be like upgrading to a five-star facility compared to the two-star group homes in Jamaica.
What are we waiting for? It is time to bring our people home.
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God Bless you for sharing your story and giving hope to others.
I am so proud of Quincy for having the courage and generosity to share his story. There are so many people here who struggle, who stay quiet out of fear of judgement, or who do not have the support they need. It is crucial they know they are not alone, and that there are people who do care and understand, and don’t judge.