The governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, and the mayor of São Paulo, Ricardo Nunes, presented tonight (24) a plan to try to face the problem of Cracolândia, a region that brings together flows of drug addicts and which is currently scattered through the central region of the capital of São Paulo.
The plan announced by the governor and the mayor foresees the development of actions in the areas of health, security and social assistance. It will be coordinated by the deputy governor, Felício Ramuth, and will be divided into four main points: approach to users through specialized professionals; supply of lines of care for the treatment of chemical dependency; integration; and provision of public services with updating of the single register.
“The goal is to guarantee drug addicts an opportunity for social reintegration, a way out of addiction. We are going to improve the approach work at the end and expand the possibilities of treating and monitoring these people throughout the process”, said the governor.
Before the press interview, Tarcísio and Nunes met with members of the Court of Justice, the Public Defender’s Office and the Public Ministry of São Paulo. This is not the first time that a governor or mayor of São Paulo has announced a program for Cracolândia, predicting its end: the problem has existed for more than 30 years and no government, so far, has managed to succeed.
“Perhaps we were, over that time, approaching the problem in the wrong way. And indeed, it is not easy to find the right form. Whoever comes here saying that he has the solution, that the solution is simple, will be lying. For us to design these first steps, we listened to many specialists”, said Tarcísio de Freitas last night.
User service
One of the actions foreseen in the plan announced this Tuesday provides for the increase in the capacity to serve users in therapeutic communities, creating 1,000 new vacancies, 500 of which are for immediate use. The plan also foresees the hiring of 200 professionals specialized in chemical dependency and the creation of another 264 beds for detoxification, which will be available for care in general hospitals, at the Institute for the Study of Alcohol at the University of São Paulo (USP Cotoxó), and at the Helvétia unit which, according to the state government, will be restructured.
Another action will be for the so-called therapeutic justice, which will allow users who are already serving some type of sentence to fulfill part of it in treatment. According to the government, a working group will be formed between the municipal and state administrations, the Court of Justice, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Public Defender’s Office, to apply this proposal for a criminal transaction to people involved in crimes of lesser offensive potential linked to addiction. chemistry of alcohol or drugs. These people will be able to accept referral for treatment of chemical dependency in foster care or hospitalization as an alternative to arrest in flagrante delicto.
government – Rovena Rosa/Agência Brasil
In the area of public security, the government also informs that it will spread 500 smart cameras throughout the central region of the capital, interconnected to the Integrated Command and Control Center of the Secretariat of Public Security, and that they will transmit the images in real time. The goal is to try to curb drug trafficking in the region.
In the social area, the idea is to pay a social rent of BRL 1,200 per month for up to 5,000 families that are already served by municipal public facilities such as shelters and hotels. The resources, according to the government, will be transferred directly to the property owners.
Among the downtown area redevelopment measures, the new program plans to deliver 190 new apartments on Cleveland Alameda by the end of the first quarter. Also planned is the construction of 600 new housing units in the Campos Elíseos region and the revitalization of Praça da Sé and the surroundings of the Brás Station of the Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM).
compulsory hospitalization
During the interview, the governor admitted that São Paulo may adopt compulsory hospitalization as a measure to solve the problem. However, he stressed, it will only occur “when necessary”.
Compulsory hospitalization is provided for by law, but can only occur by order of Justice. According to experts, it should only be used as an emergency measure. “There is a basket of options and compulsory hospitalization is one of them, but it will only be used as a last resort to really save the life of that person who is in an extreme situation. option. But it cannot be discarded either”, said Tarcísio.
