Addiction help saves lives

July 21 is the annual International Day of Remembrance for Deceased Drug Users. In 1994, the young drug user Ingo Marten died in Gladbeck on July 21. With the help of the city, his mother succeeded in setting up a memorial for Ingo and other deceased drug users, which was followed by other places of remembrance and warning in the years that followed. The first memorial day for deceased drug addicts was held in 1998. For many years, this day has been used as an opportunity to draw attention to the issue of drug-related deaths and to focus on the living.

In 2020, 40 people died in Thuringia as a result of the use of illegalized drugs (26 drug-related deaths in 2019)1. 3,122 patients* had inpatient hospital treatment2 due to a mental and behavioural disorder caused by psychoactive substances (excluding alcohol and tobacco) in Thuringia in 2019, compared to 2,312 in the previous year (2018).

With a joint information stand at Holzmarkt on Wednesday, Jena's service providers also brought the topic to the attention of the public and spoke to interested passers-by. The number of people who died in Thuringia last year in connection with the use of illegal drugs was symbolized by 40 candles. The further development of risk minimization and education services, as well as the expansion of support services for coping with addiction, are also a priority for the organizers of the information stand this year. Drug users need a wide range of support services that are geared towards a wide variety of life situations and thus provide acceptable help.

The contact café of Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe - Begegnung Jena e.V., the addiction counseling center of SiT gGmbH, the social psychiatric service of the city administration, the AIDS-Hilfe Weimar & Ostthüringen and the self-help group "Chill Out" offer drug users in Jena a network of services ranging from low-threshold help and open discussion offers, to counseling and treatment of addiction problems, to aftercare and self-help group offers. Jena's addiction support coordinator Christiane Hofmann emphasizes :

"Addiction help saves lives. The contact points in our city offer a wide range of help for individual problems and provide free, competent and trustworthy advice - including for relatives, of course."

• Addiction counseling center of SiT gGmbH
  Kritzegraben 4
  07743 Jena
  psbs-jena@sit-online.org
  Phone: 03641 / 44 93 22

• Contact café Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe - Begegnung Jena e.V.
  Werner-Seelenbinder-Str. 26
  07747 Jena
  kontaktcafe@selbsthilfe-jena.de
  Telephone: 03641 / 474 88 33

(1) Drug situation BKA Thuringia 2020

(2) Health statistics Federal health reporting www.gbe-bund.de