With spreading street drug problematics and lack of drop in centres in Prague, the founder of the Drop In centre – and the same name foundation started the project of the service mobil street.

 

In general this is the way how to simplify the contact between the therapeutic and preventative centre on one side and „drug population“ on the other. Similar projects have been in existence in western Europe and in the world for many years, it is not anything new then. The basis is to ensure the conditions for everyday route around the town. This route is a circle, that connects places, where the high-risk drug population is present, it can be so called „drug flats“ or people, who hide in the streets – people, who use intravenously and therefore always need clean syringes and needles. Whole groups of people live in the flats, their ages range from children to middle age. These people get to wide scale of difficult life situations, for example criminal prosecution, pregnancy of mother-users, taking away of children…

 

In so called drug flats drugs are often also produced and sold. Therefore even beginner users often visit them. They are the only backgrounds that these stricken people have. In their situation they make money in different ways. Girls often prostitute themselves for money or drugs, boys steel whatever, some of them produce and sell drugs (mostly pervitin). Some of them misuse social security benefits and supports – namely benefits for children and for their part disability. They really do not want to see a doctor, even in the case of serious harm to health (amputation, infection…). They do not trust authorities and the police. They solve everything in their community. For their anomaly they are often victims of street violence.

 

Lack of sterile syringes does not cause this people to stop using, but only to use non-sterile syringes and besides they share them. The program prevent them from doing namely this. However this is not the only task. Used needles are collected and in a secure way they are disposed of. This is also part of HIV prevention. We also make new contacts with drug population and in this way also the possibility of therapeutic influence on this people increases. And the contacts already made are getting deeper. In general, it means extending the activities of Drop In´s streetworkers.

 

The sphere of activity is all Prague and its surroundings. According to long-term experience of drug problematics of our program and other drop in programs it is confirmed that many clients come from different regions of all the Czech Republic.

 

The way to make contact is active searching for endangered persons in the street. Among our clients are also many roma-people and foreigners. Age of the aim population is not defined, but accent is put on the cathegory of teenagers.

 

The mobil street program is defined as drop in institution for the first contact, which is connected with the Drop In centre. It is aimed at making new contacts, counselling and at minimizing health and social risks of the population affected with addictive substances of non-alcohol type.

 

Content of the project is among others:

 

The main sense is so called „HARM REDUCTION“. Exchange of syringes and needles minimize the risk of transmitting of infection diseases among drug users and second hand among other persons. We try to motivate and influence their manners and behavior. This attempt comes from supposition that we can prevent many complications, if we manage to find out and affect drug users population.

 

Tipping the places, we cooperate with anti-drug coordinators of every town part. These places are easily in reach of users from given town part.

 

During the contact we find out statistical data concerning namely the structure of clientele, age, sex, abused drug, way of using etc. In this phase the contact is anonymous. Collected statistical data are one of the sources for the final report. During the year they are analysed monthly.

 

Besides syringes and needles the clients are given vitamins, condoms, disinfection tampons and information concerning safe use and list of helping institutions. We offer in cooperation with National reference laboratory for AIDS saliva tests for presence of antibodis of HIV.

 

During the year we provide enlightment and we provide information for visitors of big cultural actions, where also non-alcohol drugs potentionaly endangered persons meet. These are namely substances like Cannabis, MDMA, GHB, volatile substances like Poppers, pervitin, LSD etc. These substances are sometimes called dancing or recreational drugs. Some young people get into touch with the psychotropic substances at these actions for the first time. Even experienced users do no know all risks and we can influence them in this way. Besides brochures there helps us also testing of substances for presence of MDMA.