THE mortal remains of Clarence Lexter Young, Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the Phoenix Recovery Project for substance abusers, was on Friday interred at Le Repentir Cemetery, following a moving Thanksgiving Service for his life at Christ Church, Waterloo Street in Georgetown.
The Phoenix Recovery Project (PRP) is an in-patient drug rehabilitation programme for men and women, set up by Clarence Young at Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara and which has been successful in turning around hundreds of lives on the brink of disaster.
Born May 18, 1959, Clarence Young, Trinidadian and initially himself a substance abuser, eventually took up residence in Guyana.
Through his visionary approach to substance addiction, which was beginning to rear its ugly head in Guyana, Young broke new ground. He first drafted and designed the Salvation Army’s Drug Rehabilitation programme in 1996 and four years later, The Phoenix Recovery programme, now operated at Mon Repos.
Young died on October 24, 2017, at age 58, following a brief period of illness. His death sent shock waves across Guyana which had become literally a second home for him.
Amidst a great outpouring of emotions and appreciation, calls resonated powerfully across Christ Church on Friday for the legacy set by Clarence Young, to not be interred with his bones, but that every effort be made by the Board of Directors and other members of the team to ensure that his legacy lives on.
Among the hundreds assembled to join his bereaved family members in paying their last respects were: Bishop Francis Alleyne, Head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Guyana; Divisional Commander of the Salvation Army, Major Matignol St. Lot and his wife, Major Mireille Saint Lot, Divisional Director of Women’s Ministries; Administrator of the Salvation Army’s Drug Rehabilitation Programme, Major Ulrik Thibaud and other Officers of the Guyana Division and other distinguished persons. Celebrant was the Reverend Andrew Carto and Organist, Andrea Mentore.
Among persons offering tributes were: Ann Greene, Director of the Child Care and Protection Agency; Major Michael Atherly (Ret’d); Sylvia Cort of the Ministry of Health; Kurt Jordan; Dawn Holder; Lucinda Williams; with melodious tributes in song (Ave Maria) rendered by Marian Academy Choir and a sols by Delmae Clarke James. The eulogy was delivered by Young’s children Jahleel and Jahrier.
GONE TOO SOON
Greene, who through the years had worked closely with Young, impressed by his vision, commitment and dedication to the cause, said, He’s gone too soon.”
Now that he is no more, she said, it is imperative for someone else to carry the torch, a task for which Sylvia Cort, a former co-worker, readily volunteered.
Major Michael Atherly (Ret’d), describing his personality and response to situations, recalled: “He was ever present and effervescent.”
Atherly recalled that Younge had lived a life of community service and dedication to saving lives, and that under his leadership, thousands had received help, both in Trinidad and Guyana.
For their distinguished service, both the Phoenix Recovery Project and the Salvation Army Drug Rehabilitation Programme have since received Medals of Service Awards.
Young was also attached to the Georgetown Public Hospital, supervising clinical treatment at the Prasad Hospital and was instrumental in setting up the Salvation Army’s Drug Rehabilitation Programme, which threw its doors open in 1996. He became its first counsellor.
Dawn Holder, a member of the Board of Directors, said the board stands committed to carry on Young’s legacy, but said that the facility cannot depend only on assistance given by the private sector. She is calling on the Government of Guyana to play a role.
Meanwhile, on behalf of the Salvation Army International, Worldwide, The Jamaica Territorial Headquarters, the Guyana Divisional Headquarters et al, Administrator of the Men’s Social Services Centre, Major Ulrik Thibaud extended condolences to the bereaved widow, Samantha Young and children Jahleel and Jahrier; the Board of Directors, the clients in recovery and other family members.
He alluded to Young as a very faithful and committed person who fearlessly advocated on behalf of the recovering addicts in Guyana.
“Guyana has lost a good man… One who has worked with his heart; has a passion for what he did and did it with dignity and determination,” Thibaud affirmed.
Young’s Phoenix Recovery Project initially catered only for male addicts. But in 2007, the U.S. State Department, through the Catholic Relief Services made a grant available to Phoenix for the first-ever treatment centre for women, and by August 2007 they were able to admit their first batch of female substance abusers.
