SANCA Western Cape History
Prior to 1950 there were no rehabilitation services or any form of treatment available to South Africans with an alcohol problem. Instead they were sent to work colonies for the unemployed where their addiction challenges went largely untreated. In 1951, Mr Eric Louw, the South African ambassador to the US and Dr Karl Bremer invited Marty Mann, a world renown expert on alcoholism and the first woman in Alcoholics Anonymous, to conduct an alcohol awareness campaign in South Africa.
A year later, in 1952, local Rotary Clubs invited the chairperson of Alcoholics Anonymous to speak about the lack of treatment services for alcoholics in Cape Town. In March 1953, Provincial Secretary of the Cape Province, Dr William Slater, initiated an action committee to investigate the need for substance abuse services in the province. As a direct result of this investigation the South African National Council on Alcoholism (SANCA) was registered in Cape Town on 10 December 1953, and the first staff member was appointed to render counselling services to people facing alcohol difficulties. From the onset, SANCA recognised the importance of prevention initiatives, and incorporated an information and education component into its services.
Dr Slater, who initiated similar organisations in the other provinces, spearheaded the establishment of SANCA's national office in Johannesburg in 1956. During the course of 1958, a number of medical practitioners started Sans Souci, the first ever clinic to treat alcoholics in Cape Town. Dr Slater also played a key role in the establishment another facility in Cape Town, the Park Road Hospital for Alcoholics, which opened its doors on 17 March 1959. This hospital was renamed the William Slater Hospital, but later closed down. Following the proclamation of the first Act on Rehabilitation Centres [Act 86 of 1963], additional treatment centres in other provinces were also established.
From its humble beginnings in 1953, SANCA Western Cape has gone from strength to strength, establishing six branch offices in Paarl (1976), Athlone/Langa (1978), Tygerberg/Grassy Park (1982), Mitchells Plain (1986), Atlantis (1987) and Khayelitsha (1998). The organisation, which has always lobbied for and promoted accessible alcohol prevention and equal treatment services for all South Africans regardless of race or creed, was also instrumental in establishing substance treatment centres in George and Knysna, in addition to the Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre.
