The story of Paul Fusca, a Canadian heroin, cocaine, and methadone addict who had turned to a life of crime to pay for his $800 a day heroin habit. With no prospect of long term care, he found his way to Italy and to a remarkable drug treatment center known as San Patrignano. An inspiring story of hope and recovery.
Buy Hope for the Addicted on DVD.
He was desperately unhappy, but felt he could find no way out. He had been in rehab half a dozen times, but no program worked: they were too short.
But just when he had overdosed and was near death, he was rescued by the two women who never quit on Paul, his mother and Franca Carella, whose small drug rehab center, the Vitanova Foundation in Woodbridge, Ontario helped Paul when almost no one else could or would.
This documentary takes a parent, a drug addict, a therapy group, or a drug counselor through Paul’s story, and it is an inspiring story. Franca Carella helped Paul Fusca find his way to Italy and to a remarkable drug treatment center known as the Community of San Patrignano, a therapeutic village where every inhabitant from the doctors at the modern hospital to the guests are all addicts or recovering addicts.
Reviews
“Hope For The Addicted is a hands-down winner. It is a masterpiece of human triumph. San Patrignano, an Italian country estate, has developed from 1978 into the largest live-in drug treatment center in Europe through the love, compassion, and intelligence of Vincenzo Mucioli. The center, where residents stay from three to five years, is self-funded through a variety of cottage industries that produce high value items and also train recovering addicts in new occupations. The motto of the program is to treat the soul, not the addiction. More than 60 affiliated centers world wide are following this lead. This film deserves wide exposure. … it should have great appeal to policy makers and those who elect them.” – Library Journal
“Every now and then, a video comes along which shows you something about the world we live in which is so completely unexpected, so wonderful and so unbelievable as to defy credibility. This amazing video demonstrates that our current thinking about drug addicts and the promise of their recovery may need a transfusion from the minds of real, caring benefactors in our midst. There is hope for the addicted, and it’s called San Patrignano. Remarkable and highly recommended.” 3 1/2 Stars – Video Librarian
“Hope For The Addicted: The San Patrignano Story is a 47- minute documentary film that takes a parent, a drug addict, therapy groups, a drug counselor, or a ny viewer concerned about addiction in our society through the inspirational story of Paul Fusca, a young addict who had totally hit bottom.” - Wisconsin Bookwatch
Details
LENGTH: 1 x 60 Minutes
FORMAT: Special
CAMERA: Betacam
INTERNATIONAL TRACK: Yes
TEXTLESS: No
CLOSED CAPTIONS: No
ASPECT RATIO: 4:3
PRODUCTION YEAR: 1997
RELEASE YEAR: 1998
SUPPLIER: NEWSCO
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada
RIGHTS TERRITORY: USA & Canada
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