Promotional activities of the “Support. Don’t Punish“ campaign in Albania

The main activity was the awareness day in occasion of 26th of June, in Durrës. Since the major part of the population is in summer holidays, Aksion plus planned to organize a big event in Durres, in the beach, among vacationers. For this event they strongly collaborated with Caritas, informing at the beginning their 50 young volunteers and on 26th they went together and distributed information among people. Firstly, a big banderol “Support. Don’t Punish” with key message on drug policy was posted in the seaside, in order for the vacationers to see and to understand what this activity was about. The day continued with the distribution of the brochures, leaflets and posters of the campaign. All the volunteers and staff were wearing T-shirt with the message “Support. Don’t Punish”. It was an excited day for young volunteers, to say “no” to the discrimination toward these target groups.

On June 26, 2019, in one of the main streets in the city of Tirana, a drug information campaign was developed together with the SALUS clinic. This activity consisted in the distribution of brochures and leaflets for the purpose of informing the population in the framework of the “Support. Don’t Punish” campaign.

Have a look at the video from the activities below

Global Day of Action- Support. Don't Punish!

Support. Don’t Punish is a global grassroots-centred initiative in support of harm reduction and drug policies that prioritise public health and human rights. The campaign seeks to put harm reduction on the political agenda by strengthening the mobilisation capacity of affected communities and their allies, opening dialogue with policy makers, and raising awareness among the media and the public.The Support. Don’t Punish campaign aligns with the following key messages:-The drug control system is broken and in need of reform-People who use drugs should no longer be criminalised-People involved in the drug trade at low levels, especially those involved for reasons of subsistence or coercion, should not face harsh or disproportionate punishments-The death penalty should never be imposed for drug offences-Drug policy should focus on health, well-being and harm reduction-Drug policy budgets need rebalancing to ensure health and harm reduction-based responses are adequately financed.#Supportdontpunish #aksionplus #globaldayofaction #26ofJune

Gepostet von Aksion Plus am Donnerstag, 27. Juni 2019

You can find more about the campaign activities recently held in Albania at the news following this link>>>

A month of Support. Don’t Punish activities in Albania

Our Albanian colleagues from the organisation Aksion Plus organised a sensitization campaign in the cities of Durres and Tirana in May and June 2019 as their contribution to the Support. Don’t Punish campaign.

On 9 May, a workshop was organized with the students of “5 October” High School. This workshop consisted in informing young people about drug use based on Aksion Plus’s many years of experience in providing services, awareness campaigns focusing on drug use as well as publishing of informative materials. Young students were also organized into work in groups in order to have everyone’s involvement and engagement. Additionally, a presentation by some of the school youth about their knowledge of the phenomenon of drug use was presented.

The focus of the meeting held on 16 May in the University of New York was the discussion with prospective professionals on issues that affect the reality of drug users, HIV / AIDS, giving special importance to prevention and damage reduction policies. These realities are already noticeably tangible in every part of society. Also discussed about the “Support, Don’t Punish” campaign.

This workshop in the High school “Charles Telford Erickson” held on 23 May consisted in informing students about drug use based on Aksion Plus’s many years of experience in providing services: Methadone Maintenance Therapy, Psychological Counselling, HIV Testing, Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, Syphilis, Hep B, Hep C and awareness campaigns. It was presented a video. Young students were also organized into work in groups in order to have everyone’s involvement and engagement.

This workshop in the High school “Gramoz Palushi”, including 4 representatives of Caritas Albania, was held on 14 June. A video was presented. Young students were also organized into work in groups in order to have everyone’s involvement and engagement. The goal was to involve all students in an interactive way. At the end of the workshop, some space was left for their questions, comments about what was discussed, and what suggestions they had about future workshops.

Assistance in legal issues for Aksion Plus clients

The DPNSEE member organisation Aksion Plus started offering support to their clients in legal issues. Their stuff has informed its branches in the cities they are active as well as other individuals interested in recent Open Society Foundation Albania (OSFA)-backed intervention assistance.

At the meeting that was conducted in the methadone dispensing office in Shkodra, they arranged the meeting to inform all users who receive methadone that Aksion Plus is providing free legal aid in collaboration with the OSFA Legal Clinic in Shkodra. In obtaining legal aid, Aksion Plus’s representative in Shkodra city has a task to stay in constant contact with legal representatives and representatives of Aksion Plus in Tirana regarding the progress of cases the users addressed.

In addition, a meeting was also held with representatives of the OSFA legal clinic in Shkodra. Apart from legal assistance in the administrative and civil aspect, consideration was also given to the provision of legal aid in criminal matters as well.

OSFA legal aid clinic in Shkodre

As for the city of Tirana, two other cases of MMT clients have been identified, which sought legal assistance for: jail sentence, taking custody of children. Constant contacts are maintained with the law office to see the progress of the issues.