The ‘Pilot Centre for Children and Adolescents at Risk’ (CCAR) situated in capitol Sofia now offers specialised substance abuse programmes for Bulgarian children and adolescents. In end-April, the centre was officially opened by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.
First of its kind
As the first of its kind in Bulgaria, the centre is expected to significantly improve the treatment and rehabilitation of young people seeking help with substance abuse problems. Through training in social skills and systematic daily activities, including cultural, creative and sports activities, the centre aims to make its young clients become clean of drugs and reintegrate them into society. The opening of similar centres in other cities is already planned.
National awareness-raising campaign on drug use
The €414,000 grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway has also financed a national awareness-raising campaign about drug use among children and adolescents. Bulgaria has in later years seen a dramatic increase in drug and alcohol abuse among the younger population, but there has, until now, been no drug prevention programmes specifically targeting people under the age of 18.
Drug helpline for children and teens
In relation to the campaign, a new national drug helpline was established to ensure that children and adolescents experimenting with and abusing drugs have easy access to professional help and accurate information regarding the dangers of substance abuse. The helpline started operating in July 2010. Project coordinator Elmira Nesheva of the National Centre for Addictions in Bulgaria said they received close to 600 phone calls from young people asking for help during the first six months of operation.
The project has also involved the training of social workers, law enforcement officials and educational staff in order to make them become more effective in identifying young people with substance abuse problems and more competent at early intervention techniques. Experts from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Regional Project Office for South Eastern Europe and The Competence Centre of the City of Oslo Agency for Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services have taken part in this training.
Photo: Part of a poster about the new national drug helpline established by the National Center for Addictions.
Picture caption: Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borissov inaugurated the EEA Grants-financed center together with Dagfrid Hjorthol, chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Royal Norwegian Embassy, and Bulgarian Minister of EU Funds Management Tomislav Donchev.