A Letter from Home

This work is part of a collective exhibition Not Giving a Hoot curated by Vítor Nieves.

A Letter from Home

According to the United Nations’ World drug report 2021, “drug use killed almost half a million people in 2019. In 2020, around 275 million people have used drugs, up by 22% from 2010.” The devastating effects of drug use have not been stemmed since last century to date.

Therapeutic communities represent one answer to drug addiction, aiming at the reintegration into society through the change toward a drug-free life. Overall, around 2500 therapeutic communities were identified in 2011 across Europe, of which 708 were in Italy.

“A Letter From Home” is a project on the rehabilitation, educational and personal development of a group of residents of San Patrignano, an Italian long-term drug recovery residential community considered among the largest worldwide, with more than 26000 people hosted and 4000 years of prison converted in rehabilitation programs since 1978.

Upon entering the community, each individual is assigned to one of the work sectors, where at least for one year, a senior resident will serve as the guide in understanding the mechanisms of addiction and attempting to dismantle them. Every progress of the newcomer is also a boost to the self-esteem of the mentor.

The daily routines are tight and determined by mandatory activities, as well as selected ones, such as studies and sport. Never alone, anyway, loneliness requires stability. No distractions are allowed. For the first year, letters represent the only contact with the outside world. There are often human relations to be reconstructed, or, at least, to be understood.

Sharing emotions, spaces, work and recreational activities with individuals of the same sector is the key. At every moment residents face their own limits, fears, frailties. It is a hard, deep and never-ending fight.

The completion of the three year long program is not guaranteed. Guests live the journey with their own intensity and sensitivity. Internal crises sometimes materialize in the rejection of community dynamics.

In the stories of individuals at the end of the program, there is always an awareness, an acceptance of one’s own and others’ vulnerabilities, a willingness to share, a clear gaze.

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