As part of the 16 Days Against Violence campaign and on the eve of International Human Rights Day, teachers and high school students of the Chuhuiv City Territorial Community took part in the online event "Drug Addiction is a Disease that Can Be Overcome"

Drug addiction is a mental disorder that manifests itself in an irresistible desire to use drugs, despite the negative socio-medical consequences.

According to independent experts, the number of drug addicts in Ukraine is 1.5-2 million, which is ten times more than the official figures. And the spread of drug addiction among young people has already become a pandemic.

The screening of Petit Samedi was held at the online cinema DOCUSPACE to help teachers, psychologists, social educators, and high school students of Chuhuiv community to better understand the manifestations of drug addiction, its consequences, and its prevention methods. After the screening, the audience joined the discussion with expert Oleksandr Kulinich, psychotherapist, addictionologist, head of the Atmosphere Rehabilitation Centre. The event was organized by the Centre for Professional Development of Teachers of Chuhuiv City Council and the public organization DUMA Centre for Legal and Political Research. The discussion was moderated by Yurii Chumak, the head of the DUMA Center for Legal and Political Research and the regional coordinator of the Travelling Docudays UA.

Despite the screening taking place on Saturday, 40 participants gathered together and asked questions to Oleksandr Kulinich. The expert, in turn, responded to them in an accessible form, citing illustrative examples from the film Petit Samed and his own experience of working with drug addicts.

The National Drug Addiction Hotline operates in Ukraine: 0-800-507-727 (calls are anonymous and free). Both drug addicts and their relatives can call for help.

Text: Heorhii Kobzar