The Regional Alcohol and Drug Program operated at the Foundation from 1996 to 2021, continuing and developing the work of the Committee on Addiction Education, established in 1989. The aim of the programme was to promote and develop cooperation and exchange of experience in the field of alcoholism and drug addiction treatment in the countries of Eastern Europe and the former USSR. The programme organised various forms of training of specialists in the field of prevention and treatment of addiction and education of families of addicts. Seminars, internships and conferences were held, and literature was published to popularise knowledge about addiction and therapy methods based on the partnership of professionals with mutual aid groups such as AA or Al-Anon, including the ArkA addiction prevention magazine. The programme also addressed the issue of domestic violence and various manifestations of aggression co-occurring in families and communities that abuse alcohol and drugs.
An important element of the programme’s activities was the creation and improvement of treatment programmes for addicts in prisons. In 2020-21, the programme prepared a series of lectures by Polish specialists on addiction and domestic violence prevention available in Polish, Russian and Estonian.
The programme was funded by the Open Society Foundation and led by Ewa Woydyłło-Osiatyńska and Małgorzata Prejzner.
Read more about the programme in the Foundation’s Annual Reports.
