"Sober - healthy - together" - Preventive seminar

On 25 September 2012, in the Kowala Commune Office the 4th Family Meeting was held under the theme: "Sober - Healthy - Together", organised by the Local Social Welfare Centre in Kowala.

The seminar was attended by about fifty participants, including representatives of institutions and residents of the community particularly interested in the subject of sobriety.

Sober, because the Centre persuades its Clients and the entire community that sober lifestyle is one of the ways of solving family problems.

Healthy, because we care about healthy society. Only sober persons can take care of themselves, their relatives, mental physical and social health.

Together, because a family is a community and together it's easier to overcome any kind of problems. We care about sober, healthy families who wish to change the world around them.

Specialists were invited to the meeting. The first speaker was Mrs Krystyna Brendel - a psychologist, who talked about the family's role in upbringing in sobriety. She presented the models of healthy and disturbed families and inappropriate roles assumed by children in families affected by addiction. The second speaker was Mr Kazimierz Kałużny - a therapeutist working in the Centre for Addiction Treatment, who showed the world through the eyes of an alcohol addict and a co-addicted family. He discussed the myths about drinking alcohol, which still function in the society and social attitudes towards people who quit drinking. The next speaker was Assistant Jacek Bukowski - a policeman working in the Municipal Police Headquarters in Radom. The subject of his speech was addiction in the context of breaching the law and its effects. Mr Bukowski presented a very vivid description of the problem.

Between the speeches a group of secondary school pupils performed a cabaret act showing some scenes from a family life. Pupils from grades IIa and IIIf of the Public Secondary School in Parznice, under the guidance of Mrs Joanna Bliska, received thunderous applause.

Reverend Mirosław Kszczot, a pastor of sobriety, also contributed to the seminar by presenting the subject from the Church's perspective. He emphasized that attitude towards alcohol "reveals important truth about every person." "It reflects a personal hierarchy of values, the degree of internal freedom and control over impulses. Resorting to alcohol in difficult situations or treating alcohol as a way to hide our weaknesses is a clear signal of stepping on the path of addiction." The virtue of being sober is not so much a moderation in drinking, but ease with which we live life in abstinence.

At the end of the meeting, Mrs Urszula - a representative of Al.-Anion group from Radom - shared her personal observations with other participants.

The seminar allowed us to pay attention to several important aspects:

• The first and most natural environment shaping the children's and young people's attitudes to alcohol is their family home.
• Drunken habits of adults should be considered as a source of alcohol initiation among young people.
• Children easily follow in the footsteps of their parents; parents' habits are repeated by kids as a standard part of their lives as adults.
• Many young people consume alcohol not only because of imitating others, but also because they believe in its therapeutic effects. This opinion is still widespread in many circles.
• Alcohol consumption is higher among those young people whose parents and guides have insufficient control over their free time.
• Young people from broken families or families affected by conflicts have earlier contact with alcohol.

At the end of the meeting everybody could try a tasty treat prepared for this occasion. After the official part participants could talk with the experts and share their opinions on the discussed problems.

Family meeting "Sober - Healthy - Together" was organised as a part of the project "Social assistance - often very effective" co-funded by the European Union within the framework of the European Social Fund Priority 7; Promotion of social integration Measure 7.1 Development and popularisation of active integration, Sub-measure 7.1.1 Development and popularisation of active integration by social by social welfare centres.