Minister of Family, Youth and Equal Opportunities Natalia Intotero said on Monday in Brasov that she has not yet received an actual reply to the lack of state-run centres for the treatment of young addicts and told the relevant authorities that the five-year deadline, which they have advanced, is too long.

„I hope this problem will be solved as soon as possible. I know that the National Antidrug Agency is working, together with the National Centre for Mental Health, to build these centres and is trying to get European funding. I would like that to be as fast as possible, not just – as some have said – in the next five years, because five years is far too late. There are a few NGOs that carry out this activity, but their services are not free, and there are families who do not have such possibility, there are also children and young people from the social protection system, for whom it is very difficult to find a source of funding to pay for such a recovery, which takes one year. Therefore, what we can do, from the Ministry of Family, Youth and Equal Opportunities, is to carry out this prevention. We have voiced our intention that if we can be used, we help and expect an echo to this proposal in the Supreme Council for National Defence (CSAT) working group,” Intotero told AGERPRES, adding that there are several buildings in the country designed for this purpose 20 years ago, where no activity was carried out.

At the same time, she added that she wants to collaborate with NGOs that carry out such recovery activities for young addicts and that she is open to dialogue if they have proposals for improving legislation.

Intotero participated on Monday in Brasov in the closing event of the Campaign „No Barriers – The Whole Truth About Illicit Drugs,” supported by the Ministry of Family, Youth and Equal Opportunities and financed by the European Commission, attended by hundreds of pupils and students from Brasov at the Sica Alexandrescu Theatre House.

„It is a different campaign because, this time, the officials listen and that is why I am congratulating all the young people who accepted to be ambassadors of this campaign and who were selected from university campuses and then were prepared to send a heart-felt message to reach the soul of young people, children, parents, grandparents in Romania. Because it is a family problem, and our involvement leads further to the health of our society. I also want to thank Teen Challenge who will expose their lives trying to stop from temptation all those who want to try a new experience, one that can lead to death,” the minister said.

AGERPRES