CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE
Community Based Peer Led Intervention & Outreach Drop-In-Centre
Project Launching Ceremony and
Flagging off the Outreach & IEC Van – A Brief Report
The Project launching ceremony of the ‘Community based Peer Led Intervention & Outreach Drop-In-Centre’ in Vijayawada city, focussing on Youth and Adolescents preventing from Drug and Substance Abuse through targeted interventions, duly financed by National Institute of Social Defence, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India and implemented by Health Care and Social Welfare Society NGO; was launched in the Convention Hall of Hotel Murali Fortune, near Benz circle, Vijayawada city on 30th of October 2019 from 10.30 AM to 1.30 PM, wherein nearly 200 participants from various stakeholder departments like Police, Narcotics, Juvenile Justice, Drug Control, NGOs, academicians, CBOs, Association of practicing Psychiatrists and others attended.
Before the project launching ceremony, an Outreach & IEC Van donated by the Founder, Health Care & Social Welfare Society Smt. G. Chiranjeevi to the CPLI program was jointly flagged off by the distinguished Guests Sri Rajesh Kumar Sinha Under Secretary, Govt. of India, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Sri. AMD Imtiaz, IAS Collector and District Magistrate, Krishna District and Sri. G C Kishore Kumar, IAS, Director, Dept. for the welfare of Differently Abled, Transgender & Senior Citizens. Later for the Project launch ceremony which was held in the convention hall and all the dignitaries were invited on to the dais. A Power point presentation was displayed by the project Consultant on the implementation aspects of identification, Counseling, Treatment and Rehabilitation for drug and substance abuse among adolescents and youth through the Community based Peer Led Intervention and Outreach Drop-In Center. The District Collector & Magistrate has released a Pamphlet with information about the ill effects on drug and substance abuse and prevention, various services provided by Health Care & Social Welfare Society under CPLI & ODIC programs.
Sri. AMD Imtiaz, District Collector & Magistrate has expressed that each one of the stakeholders present here, having the responsibility to ensure that Youth should not become the victims of Drug & Substance abuse. At this juncture the District Collector has directed that, Awareness programs to be conducted at schools and Colleges on the adverse effects of Drugs and Substance abuse. He has promised that he would support De-addiction centers and implement action plan for rehabilitation programs for the drug addicts to assist them to lead a normal life. Also the Collector has promised to commission an Advisory committee with participation from all stakeholder departments to plan and advice the implementing agencies for effective outcomes.
Sri. Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Under Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has explained that they had identified 127 districts across India which has high incidence of Drugs Usage also they have sanctioned 450 Drug De-addiction centers in the entire country. He also explained that Andhra Pradesh has 11 Drug De-addiction centers presently functional. The Under Secretary has informed that the present projects on Prevention of Drug abuse among adolescents and Youth are getting started in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam cities. He has requested the concerned departments to extend their cooperation for the success of the CPLI & ODIC projects.
The Director Dept. for Welfare of the Differently abled, Transgender and Senior Citizens in his message had expressed that the menace of drug and substance abuse among the Youth and Adolescents has been rising all over India and Andhra Pradesh is also getting affected to it. He stated that there is need for change in the attitude and functioning of Government departments which are related to the prevention of drug and substance abuse as the impact of this hazard will wipe out the productivity of younger generations who would be the future of this country. He has urged all the representatives and heads of other stakeholder departments to extend their full cooperation to his department and the implementing NGO to ensure that the threat of the Drug and Substance addiction shall be eliminated from Vijayawada City.
Smt. Radhika Reddy, HoD Psychiatry, Siddhartha Medical College had viewed that the Youth are spoiling their lives by getting prone to Drugs Usage. She had felt that this addiction will impact negatively on the academic, social, psychological, economical and physiological development among youth using drugs and their future prospects. She opined that the drug use among the youth and adolescents is duly influenced by education environment, peer pressure, curiosity or urge to experiment, and the availability of drugs and substance. She has explained about the vulnerability of injecting drug users (IDUs) to get co-infected with HIV/AIDS, due to sharing of needles and syringes and coupled with risky sexual behavior makes the problem of drug use even more serious.
The other dignitaries have present in the ceremony representing various departments in their respective messages have promised that they would be active partners in the project, they would provide their support and cooperation when ever required to the implementing agency and would be part of the Advisory body as stated by the District Collector and Magistrate.
Finally the Asst Director, Dept. for Welfare of the Differently Abled, Transgender and Senior Citizens had presented ‘Vote of Thanks’ and thanked each and every state level and district level officers for their participation along with their staff, providing valuable suggestions and for promising to support Health Care & Social Welfare Society the NGO, their support and cooperation for upcoming coordinated initiatives.
Sd/- JS Anand, Chairman, HCSWS
