Do not close it, the organization writes to the mayor – eXtra.cz
The Prague 5 district has decided to terminate the lease of the non-profit organization Progressive, which has been operating a contact center for drug users in Mahenová street for the eighteenth year. “It is certain that Progressive is doing a worthy job, and I am calling for more such a center in Prague. But they are supposed to be spread over Prague. It’s up to the municipality,” Prague 5 Mayor Renata Zajíčková (ODS) told the daily Právo. However, non-profit organizations and experts disagree with her move with an open letter warning that this move will lead to a worsening of the situation.
The authors of the letter are addressing the Mayor of Prague 5 in connection with by the recent decision of the Prague 5 District Council, which decided to terminate the lease at its meeting on July 25 by the end of the calendar year for the non-profit organization
It is one of three contact centers in the capital city. If the organization fails to secure replacement premises for him, he will have to close down by the end of the year. At the same time, experts point out that the current capacity of contact centers in Prague is overcrowded and, according to available data, the capital city would need eight to nine such centers. Neither the director of the organization nor councilor M. Johnová, who is in charge of the social sector, during negotiations with other city districts it was not possible to obtain approval for the lease of premises in the territory of another city district (some of them repeatedly rejected the creation of a similar center and let it be voted on in a local referendum).
Threats to public health and the spread of disease
Director of the Progressive organization Vojtěch Janouškovec and the director Czech Streetwork Association In an open letter, Martina Zikmundová warns that the decision of the Prague 5 Municipal Council may deprive the capital of up to a third of the current capacity of addiction services.
“Therefore, in our opinion, this step is not an effective solution to the situation, on the contrary, the current situation not only within the Prague 5 Municipal Council, but also in other parts of Prague is significantly worse. Supportive social services will be much more difficult to access for the residents of Prague who are dealing with addictions, and public health will also be threatened by a higher risk of the spread of infectious diseases. All this will noticeably disrupt the social removal in the capital.” stands in an open letter.
The authors of the letter also draw attention to the fact that after the possible closure of the contact center, its clients will automatically move to the remaining two contact centers (Sananim and Drop In) and to the streets, to field programscrime and general tension in localities will increase. At the same time, they propose four steps to solve the current situation (extending the notice period to 12 months, at the same time further negotiations with other city districts, establishing a contact center in the property of the city district or the municipality.
According to the authors’ letter the timing of this decision is not accidental and they have a justified fear that it was chosen so that the topic became part of the pre-election campaign for the elections to the Prague municipality and city district councils. “Low-threshold social services are often the only ones who are in contact with clients at a certain period of their lives with addiction, before they reach doctors, psychiatrists and other professional services. Addiction is a disease, addicted residents of Prague should not be held hostage by one district. The current situation has no winners, only losers.” stated Janouškovec and Zikmundová at the end of the open letter.
Mayor: It is not possible for Prague 5 to be burdened by drug users
Their words are also supported by Ondřej Sklenář, director of the Magdalena association, which deals with drug addicts. “The complete opposite of what Prague needs has happened. Prague 5 is gambling because low-threshold services are there to protect the health of not only drug addicts, but also the majority of society,” he said Right Glazier.
The editors of eXtra.cz tried to contact the Prague 5 district and the mayor Renata Zajíčková (ODS) with a request for a statement. However, she did not respond until the publication of the article. For Právo Zajíčková stated that, in her opinion, the situation is intolerable due to the fact that there are two such contact centers in Prague 5 and one surgery that provides substitution treatment for addicts. “I have been working on this topic for the sixth year, of which two or three years we have been dealing with this particular situation. It is not possible for Prague 5 to be burdened by drug users and people from all over Prague and the surrounding area commute here,” said Zajíčková.
“It is certain that Progressive is doing a worthy job, and I am calling for more such a center in Prague. But they are supposed to be spread over Prague. It’s up to the municipality,” added the mayor of Prague 5.