The President of the Republic in the action of the Streetwork group of OKANA

The President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou participated yesterday in the action of the Streetwork group of OKANA, in the center of Athens. The group distributed safer use kits, homelessness kits, personal protection kits from Covid-19, junk food and clothing to people who use substances.

Mrs. Sakellaropoulou was welcomed at the venue by the President of OKANA Athanasios Theoharis, the Vice-President Athanasios Dimitriadis, the adviser to the President of OKANA Anastasios Trakakis, the person in charge of the Steetwork program Litsa Lagaku and the Deputy Head of International and Public Cooperation of the organization Christina Syrgani with 5 members club.

The President of the Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, after her symbolic presence at the OKANA action, proceeded to post: “Anonymous shadows in the chaos of the big city, addicted to substances, constantly roaming in search of their dose. Young men and women, stuck in an immobilized present. We see them in the parks, on the street corners, in the narrow streets of the center, we are shocked by this waste of life, marginalization, loneliness, impoverishment. And we feel powerless to help, in the face of their refusal or inability to approach psychosocial services or health structures. But these people are not alone. They have around them those who devote time and mental reserve to support them in every way. For almost thirty years now, the Organization Against Drugs – OKANA has been close to users, creating hostels and hangouts, organizing actions aimed at offering them relief, information, conditions of safe use – both to ensure their health and to avoid spread of communicable diseases – care for their personal hygiene, feeding and clothing and especially mobilization for their inclusion in drug addiction programs. It is an effort that needs to be strengthened and expanded. The expansion of existing structures, and their continued support, will remove our addicted fellow human beings from the street, providing them with safety, allaying the legitimate concerns of the residents, preventing delinquent behavior that is often instigated by drug trafficking rings. It will turn the vicious cycle of addiction into a path of hope.

Following, together with the president of OKANA Athanasios Theoharis, the vice-president Athanasios Dimitriadis and the executives of the organization Litsa Lagakou and Christina Syrganis, a typical route of the Streetwork group of OKANA, which consisted of Alexandros Vlachos, Nikos Margaritis, Andreas Syntrikos and Konstantina Karanika, in the area of ​​Metaxourgeio, in the streets behind the National Theater and around the University, in the disused zones of use, we saw how drug addicts respond to OKANA’s initiatives, how much they recognize the fact that for the organization’s therapists and volunteers they are visible, they are persons, subjects of rights, like each of us. This sense of responsibility and solidarity towards the other that moves OKANA people and pushes them to give, is a response to alienation and social alienation. By approaching the users on the basis of equality, with respect for their human value, they create a stable relationship, a strong social bond, the first step towards their definitive detoxification and smooth reintegration into society. Anonymous shadows in the chaos of the big city, addicted to substances, constantly roaming in search of their dose. Young men and women, stuck in an immobilized present. We see them in the parks, on the street corners, in the narrow streets of the center, we are shocked by this waste of life, marginalization, loneliness, impoverishment. And we feel powerless to help, in the face of their refusal or inability to approach psychosocial services or health structures. But these people are not alone. They have around them those who devote time and mental reserve to support them in every way. For almost thirty years now, the Organization Against Drugs – OKANA has been close to users, creating hostels and hangouts, organizing actions aimed at offering them relief, information, conditions of safe use – both to ensure their health and to avoid spread of communicable diseases – care for their personal hygiene, feeding and clothing and especially mobilization for their inclusion in drug addiction programs. It is an effort that needs to be strengthened and expanded. The expansion of existing structures, and their continued support, will remove our fellow addicts from the street, providing them with safety, assuaging the legitimate concerns of residents, preventing criminal behavior that is often instigated by drug trafficking rings. It will turn the vicious cycle of addiction into a path of hope.

Following, together with the president of OKANA Athanasios Theoharis, the vice-president Athanasios Dimitriadis and the executives of the organization Litsa Lagakou and Christina Syrganis, a typical route of the Streetwork group of OKANA, which consisted of Alexandros Vlachos, Nikos Margaritis, Andreas Syntrikos and Konstantina Karanika, in the area of ​​Metaxourgeio, in the streets behind the National Theater and around the University, in the disused zones of use, we saw how drug addicts respond to OKANA’s initiatives, how much they recognize the fact that for the organization’s therapists and volunteers they are visible, they are persons, subjects of rights, like each of us. This sense of responsibility and solidarity towards the other that moves OKANA people and pushes them to give, is a response to alienation and social alienation. By approaching the users on the basis of equality, with respect for their human value, they create a stable relationship, a strong social bond, the first step towards their definitive detoxification and smooth reintegration into society

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