A family searching for help can become desperate enough to trust the first convincing promise. Someone says they understand addiction. Someone offers a bed, a programme, a fresh beginning. The family wants to believe that their loved one will finally be safe.
On 20 October, SAnews reported a Department of Social Development warning following allegations of chaining and degrading treatment at a suspected illegal facility in Mpumalanga. The department urged families to verify registration with provincial Social Development offices. Religious affiliation, it said, cannot replace verification. The allegations remain matters for investigation.
For a church, this raises a searching question about the way trust is given and received. A Christian name, a moving testimony or an earnest prayer can encourage confidence. Each also places responsibility upon the people asking others to entrust a vulnerable person to them.
ScriptureGod condemns shepherds who feed themselves while failing to strengthen the weak, heal the sick and seek the lost. He promises to seek and tend his sheep himself. Authority is judged by its treatment of the people entrusted to it.
Ezekiel 34:1–6, 11–16
Ezekiel addresses Israel’s shepherds. We should hear his warning carefully when we exercise care over others. Vulnerability creates an obligation to protect. A person’s difficulty, relapse or dependence does not diminish their dignity or grant their carers unlimited authority.
The person who needs our help must remain free to tell the truth about our care.
Accountability therefore belongs inside the work from the beginning. Families need access to reliable information. People receiving care need safe ways to raise concerns. Leaders need the humility to welcome appropriate professional oversight and scrutiny, including when the questions feel inconvenient.
For anyone considering a treatment centre, the department’s published advice provides a concrete starting point: request its registration certificate, verify it with the relevant provincial office and consult a social worker about suitable options. Stay involved during treatment. Report suspected abuse to the appropriate authorities rather than allowing a respected reputation to settle the matter.
This is a pastoral responsibility too. We can pray with a family while helping them ask difficult questions. We can support recovery while recognising the expertise and safeguards that responsible treatment requires. Compassion includes the patience to check what a hopeful promise will actually mean.
In John 10, Jesus identifies himself as the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. His care gives Christian authority its measure. People seeking refuge among us should encounter protection that can bear examination, and love that never needs their silence.
