The project involves 9 European organizations active in the field of drug use in 4 EU countries.
PROJECT COOORDINATOR: COOPERATIVA ALICE ONLUS
Since 1981 Alice provides people with assistance and care services. The Cooperative aim is to improve social conditions of disadvantaged people through research activities, social work and the mediation between mutual purpose and social solidarity. In 1998, in partnership with CNCA, Alice developed a regional project, called “Attiva-Mente”, which aim was to reduce harms and risks in recreational drug use settings. Since 2008, in partnership with ASL TO4, Alice has been managing Neutravel Project, focused on harm and risk reduction interventions both in legal and illegal (the so called “free party” or “rave party”) party settings.
Coop. Alice is responsible for the implementation of all project activities; in particular Coop.Alice will manage outreach interventions in Italy.
PROJECT PARTNERS:
APDES – Piaget agency for Development (PT)
APDES is a Portuguese NGO that promotes the integrated development of communities. APDES aims to empower people and institutions, in several national, European and African territories. In 2006 APDES founded a outreach team working in party settings: CHECK!N. The project seeks to inform and support young drug users and promote the health and safety of partygoers. In 2009 CHECK!N incorporated a Drug Checking (DC) service. CHECK!N integrates the Trans European Drug Information network (TEDI).
APDES/CHECK!N is responsible for the implementation of the project activities in Portugal (outreach interventions, drug checking and research).
ASL TO4- Local Addiction Department (IT)
The Local Addiction Department (LAD) of ASL TO4 provides citizens with specialized care and treatment for addiction diseases. It is composed of 3 general addiction services (drug and other addictions), 3 alcohol addiction services, 1 facility for prisoners, 1 crisis centre for drug addicts and 5 therapeutic communities. Since the end of 90’s, the ASL TO4 LAD has been implementing harm reduction and risk reduction facilities; in the beginning of 2000’s, specific outreach interventions were proposed in party settings. Since 2008 ASL TO4 and Coop. Alice have been cooperating in Neutravel Project, implementing outreach interventions in legal and illegal party settings (free parties), using harm and risk reduction strategies.
ASL TO4 cooperates with Coop.Alice in the implementation of outreach interventions, providing educational and health support in party settings.
CAD – Antidoping Centre “A. Bertinaria” (IT)
The Regional Antidoping Center “Alessandro Bertinaria” (CAD) was founded in 2006 and launched in the XX Olympic Winter Games in Turin. It has been certified by the Piedmont Region and appointed as the reference regional laboratory for toxicological aspects.
It is currently the reference laboratory for public laboratories, Emergency Rooms, Police Departments, traffic police, public and private companies for alcohol and drug screenings. CAD represents the reference Center of the Piedmont Region for toxicological II level analysis for the detection of alcohol and drug abuse on biological samples. CAD also develops research both for the development of methods in order to increase the range of detected substances and the analysis on non-conventional and/or alternative biological samples.
CAD is responsible for the drug checking activity in party settings.
CNCA – The National Coordination of Care Communities (IT)
The National Coordination of Care Communities (C.N.C.A.) is established in Turin in 1986; now includes about 266 Third-Sector organisation as associated members, located in 15 regional areas, including social cooperatives, support centres, communities care, etc. The CNCA works with: people tackling various addictions (to heroin, cocaine, synthetic drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gambling), children and young people with personal and family problems, offenders and ex-offenders, physically and mentally handicapped people, homeless people, women and children forced in slavery (trafficking and smuggling), people affected by Aids, migrants, people having psychiatric problems. Many organisations appartaining to CNCA carry out outreach interventions with drug user (from injecting drug use to party settings)
CNCA will disseminate the project activities and results and will support the Italian outreach interventions and the on line meetings among the project partners.
DROGART – Association for Drug related Harm reduction (SLO)
Slovenian Association for drug related harm reduction – DrogArt has been active since 1999 with the main objective to reduce the damage related to alcohol, synthetic and other drugs among youth. DrogArt reaches the goal by field work (focusing on nightlife venues), the use of modern information and prevention communication channels (internet, web and mobile apps, printed materials), offering counselling service and research of the prevalence and the characteristic of drug use among youth as well as constant development of innovative harm reduction programmes / responses. In the info point in the centre of Ljubljana, DrogArt offers drug checking service with colorimetric tests.
DrogArt is responsible for the implementation of the project activities in Slovenia (outreach interventions, drug checking and research).
ECLECTICA – Institute for training and research (IT)
Founded in 1998, Eclectica focuses on health-related research, training and action projects together with other public and private organizations. The research group engages in international, national and local scientific studies that combine traditional and innovative methods. The focus is on lifestyles, particularly on drinking cultures and the use of legal and illegal substances, as well as “new addictions”. Moreover, the research team is interested in developing web-based research, both by exploring user generated contents already existent in the web and by adapting more traditional methods (such as individual interviews and focus group) to the web.
Eclectica is the leading partner for research on meanings and consumption patterns concerning the NPS use and identifying cultural similarities and differences among 3 countries: Italy, Portugal and Slovenia.
FEDERSERD (IT)
FeDerSerD Represent about 2,000 people working in addiction services; it promotes prevention and social research, shares knowledge and expertise, advocates for important scientific, social, and political issues. FeDerSerD annually organizes educational events for people working in the addiction services. Since 2001 FeDerSerD has promoted several studies and projects supported by public and private institutions, including the European Union; the results of the previous studies in the field of addiction are published both on national and international papers (see PubMed database).
Federserd is an associate partner with task of dissemination of project activities and results, especially in Italy.
FIXPUNKT (D)
Fixpunkt is a non-profit, non-governmental organization located in Berlin, Germany that supports drug-users to improve the conditions of health and social life, promoting harm reduction strategies and preventing infections which are related to drug use. Fixpunkt carry out outreach activities with the Partyteam: it introduces innovative ideas and well established methods of harm and risk reduction as well as health promotion in the Berlin party scene. The BEST project was a cooperational project between Fixpunkt and Livekomm that developed an educational program for employers in clubs, at open air festivals and discos in four different regions / cities of Germany. Fixpunkt is engaged in the Drugchecking Initiative Berlin-Brandenburg , a working group aimed to implement drug checking in the region of Berlin-Brandenburg.
Fixpunkt is an associate partner with task of dissemination of project activities and results, especially in Germany.