A center was inaugurated to serve people who present problematic drug use and other addictions in Rocha
The Ciudadela institution, which will operate from Monday to Friday during the day in Rocha, ensures capacity to care for up to 40 people with problematic drug use and other addictions, and offer individualized therapeutic treatments by interdisciplinary teams.
With the presence of the President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou, the Minister of Social Development, Alejandro Sciarra; the National Secretary of Drugs, Daniel Radío; the interim president of the State Health Services Administration (ASSE), Néstor Graña; the Mayor of Rocha, Nicolás García, and the coordinator of the Departmental Drug Board, José Luis Molina.
The centre will operate under the Ciudadela system already in place in the department, managed by the National Drug Secretariat (SND). It will serve people with problematic drug use, from a social integration perspective. There they will receive an individualised therapeutic plan drawn up by professionals.
Lacalle Pou pointed out that mental health is one of the national government’s priorities and that is why it allocated some 20,000,000 dollars in the 2022 Accountability Report. The problems associated with this issue skyrocketed during the pandemic and that led to the need to strengthen the State’s presence to address them, he said. “There is no expense here, there is investment. There is investment in health and there is investment in life,” he said.
The president stressed the importance of having a public center, because treatments in the private sector are expensive. He also valued the fact that the presence of these services in different departments allows those who need answers to access a nearby place and be attended to in person.
This center will operate through coordination between the SND, the Ministries of Social Development and Public Health, ASSE and the Colectivo Médico Rochense, a private provider in the department. The official valued the presence of health providers, since it is a fundamental dimension for those who suffer from this problem. He also advocated for avoiding the stigmatization of those who have addictions.
The president said that this inauguration has a special meaning “because it goes deep inside.” “The fact that the State has the capacity to discern what is invisible to the eyes, but vital for many families, makes me feel proud of the Government to which I belong,” he said.
THE CENTER ENSURES CAPACITY FOR UP TO 40 PEOPLE IN TREATMENT
The facility will provide care from Monday to Friday, for a minimum of four hours a day, for about 40 people. The proposed activities are related to art, culture and sport. In addition, work will be done on rebuilding the social fabric, family and work reconnections, and other support networks for those who require it.
The team in charge is interdisciplinary, made up of social workers, psychologists, doctors, psychiatrists and social educators.
