Monday, May 8, 2023, 01:13
Substance use is a latent problem among the Spanish population. According to the ‘Survey on alcohol and other drugs’, prepared by the Spanish Observatory on Drugs and Addictions, 10.6% of individuals aged 15 to 64 admitted having used cannabis at some time during 2022, a figure that rises if there is talk of hyposedatives (13.1%) and alcohol (76.4%). These substances, which cause numerous adverse effects in the body, are some of those that cause addictions, although not the only ones. The game, for example, is another of the new enemies to fight. According to the Observatory, in 2021 there were 680,000 people addicted to gambling in Spain.
These figures, which can be revealing for a large part of the population, do not surprise the professionals of the Amas Foundation. The entity was born in 2013 as the connection point for Matrix users, a program focused on the detoxification of substances, with normalized life. “We are a social recovery treatment,” says the president of Fundación Amas, Damián Alcaráz, who points out as some of the objectives of the Foundation that its users, who have had addiction problems or are in the process of rehabilitation, can recover and acquire habits of family life, learn socio-labor skills and integrate effectively into society.
One of the ways to achieve this new life is through the socio-labour insertion initiative that the entity develops with the support of Fundación ‘la Caixa’, which selected it in its ‘2022 Aid Program for Social Initiatives Projects’. The program begins with an interview with the center’s psychologist, who draws up a personalized itinerary with each of the participants that takes into account their desires, needs, and current situation. After that, they all take part in a first phase that seeks to help them with “very basic day-to-day things that due to their addiction they have been losing or do not have,” says Noemí Torresano, a Fundación Amas technician. Among the aspects that are dealt with, for example, the management of ICT, the improvement of social skills, the promotion of their autonomy in the search for work or the preparation for a job interview.
The next step is done individually with the job counselor. With it, the participants analyze in which areas they want to be trained, what jobs they have had and what they like to be able to focus on other resources, both from the entity itself and from others, that lead those who wish to learn, get internships work and get a job. At this stage, motivation plays a fundamental role, because “if they don’t have it, they are likely to give up,” stresses the coach.
Once the participants have achieved their objective, Fundación Amas does not separate from them. The last phase of the project focuses on carrying out continuous monitoring. In this sense, they try to talk to them weekly or monthly “to work on new objectives and goals, even if they are not physically in the entity,” Torresano adds.
Building a new life away from addiction is a very complex process that requires the support of both professionals and friends and family. These relatives are “fundamental”, as indicated by the social worker and director of Fundación Amas, María Reyes, in a rehabilitation process of which they are also part, although they are not protagonists, and which affects them directly and indirectly, “because it is It is necessary for them to get involved in the treatment”, remarks the director.
To help them too, the entity has developed an activity, under the name of family psychoeducation, which is a space “where they are listened to, they can let off steam and a technician explains where their family member is, why phases it will go through and what symptoms it will have, ”lists Reyes.
a chronic disease
The support of the Amas Foundation is a breath of fresh air for many people with addictions who decide to change the course of their lives. Although they are the main benefactors of these programs, working with them also has an impact on the professionals who accompany them, for whom each new advance is very satisfying. Behind each of these achievements there is a hard work that does not end with rehabilitation, but must always be maintained. Therefore, to continue rowing in the right direction, Damián Alcaráz demands that the chronicity of this disease be recognized and María Reyes advocates that those who suffer from it be accompanied throughout her life. “Just as people with heart disease have medical check-ups, a person with addiction problems must also have them and must have the support of a multidisciplinary team,” she concludes.
“It is the drug of the 21st century”
The increase in betting parlors is related to the increase in the figures for compulsive gambling in Spain. One in four Murcian adolescents participate in bets or games of chance with money and 4.7% of adolescents not only do so, but present patterns that are close to addiction, according to the ‘Survey on drug use in secondary education in Spain’, carried out in 2019. Behind these bulky data are hidden real stories such as that of Marcos Andreu, who believes that gambling is “the drug of the 21st century”. This 29-year-old young man, who started gambling at 16 and has already recovered from his addiction, is concerned about a scenario in which boys and girls have easier access to gambling than ever. He, aware of the consequences of compulsive gambling, is critical of the proliferation of these places and believes it is essential to raise awareness among the population, especially minors, through talks or initiatives “that work on and strengthen their mental health, so that the day tomorrow do not fall».
#Sociolabour #insertion #step #return #normality #addiction