Caritas may not be able to sustain its drug rehabilitation programmes because of substantial financial losses, Caritas director Mgr Victor Grech warned this evening. He also announced his forthcoming retirement from the Caritas helm.

Speaking during the graduation of former drug addicts who successfully completed a rehabilitation programme, Mgr Grech appealed for more investment in drug prevention education, rehabilitation services and in helping families.

He said that Caritas was renewing proposals it had made to the government for increased grants to its four rehabilitation centres in view of their considerable financial losses.

Mgr Grech said that last year, 694 drug addicts sought Caritas rehabilitation services - seven per cent more than in 2011 and 34 per cent more than in 2004.

A total 40 per cent of young people sought help out of their own free will. They were aged between 12 and 51. Half of the young people who sought help were unemployed.

He said that the use of heroin as the drug of choice among last year’s Caritas clients dropped by 11 per cent but that of cocaine increased by seven per cent.

The abuse of synthetic drugs, cannabis and alcohol increased significantly in the past few years.

The cocktail of drugs which some people were taking from a young age was making treatment and care more difficult, Mgr Grech said.

He said that the treatment models Caritas has been offering in the past 28 years gave good results.  73 per cent of those who sought treatment last year continued following the programmes that had been drawn up for them.

Mgr Grech also announced this was his last address in such a ceremony as director of Caritas although he would continue to serve in the Church. He has been director for 36 years.

 

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