[WATCH] Agreement for new rehab centre for minors signed

Watch:

An aerial view of the area the new minor rehab centre will be built on, and a rendering of how the building will look

Caritas and the government have signed an agreement for the first ever creation of a rehab centre for minors.

Although Caritas have various centres in which adults can find services for dependency and addiction, there is no centre specifying in minors’ needs.

Today, at San Blas Centre, an agreement was signed, finalising housing plans and costs for the first centre of its kind, offering services to minors who are suffering from addiction problems.

Speaking at the signing, family minister Michael Falzon said that the agreement was an important step in Maltese society, and that Malta should keep working towards creating benefits for every individual.

“I appeal to anyone who is suffering from the reality of drugs and dependency to come forward and accept the service we are offering,” he said.

Director of Caritas, Leonid Mckay said that it was important to have a centre for adolescents, as addiction and dependency did not only start once a person was over the age of 18. At a young age, McKay said, one had a higher risk of addiction, but children as young as 12 could become dependent.

“The use of drugs has a devastating effect,” McKay said. “Their needs are completely different than those of adults and so, there should be a place where they could recover properly.”

McKay thanked the government, in particular Falzon, as well as Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who had himself approached Caritas and asked that they open such a centre.

The government will not only be paying for the building, will will cost around €3 million, but also for the equipment required, yearly.

In 2016, 41 adolescents came to Caritas for rehabilitation services, ranging from ages 15 to 17. The victims, mainly boys, were using substances, such as cannabis, daily.

“One must remember that behind every person there is a family, and parents who do not know what they could do,” he said.

When choosing the new location, Caritas believed that nature was vital for the process of recovery, and so chose land on the outskirts of Siggiewi, which will be built and transformed into a centre where your people could recover and lead a new life.