A new social responsibility project was launched in Adana with the slogan "Put on your mask, come, take your life back" to combat drug addiction.
Within the scope of the project carried out in cooperation with Adana Alparslan Türkeş Science and Technology University, Green Crescent Adana Branch and Hakan Kutevu, an information technologies manager in a private sector company, it is aimed to create a safe environment where addicted individuals who want to get help can access expert support without having to reveal their identities.
Hakan Kutevu, one of the coordinators of the project, said that the biggest feature of this project is; He emphasized that individuals who want to get rid of addiction without fear of being judged, worried about being labeled, affecting their family, work or school, or being judged socially, can put on their white masks, reach out to experts and find all kinds of education and treatment support.
Addressing addicted individuals who want to get support, Kutevu said, "Addicted individuals are actually afraid of asking for help. I want to call out to those individuals from here; you do not have to speak, show your face, explain who you are. Just come, listen, stay silent if you want. Because no one will judge you here."
Giving information about the project, Kutevu said:
"In the project, which we started with the question of why people who are involved in drugs are afraid of getting help, we saw that the main problems here are the fear of being judged, being labeled, and the fear of family or work life. We say that the mistakes made in the past should not affect your future, and for this we will try to bring them to treatment in some way. For this, we want to create a safe space for them and let them see the stages of addiction-related treatments. We are planning to hold this meeting at the university. After this announcement is made, we will bring these individuals together in our university area by removing shuttles from certain points in Adana. By the end of October "We will launch our right project. This will be a public announcement. Our goal here is to show people that they are not alone."
Sociologist Mine Bolatlı Acar, who completed her doctoral study on addiction, said that they aim to include addicted individuals and people involved in drug crimes in the project in order to deter them from crime in the future.
Green Crescent Adana Branch President Dr. Reminding that the institution has been actively involved in the fight against addiction for 106 years, Yunus Emre Yıldırım said, "We are a non-governmental organization that strives to exalt the dignity of our people while fighting against addiction, to save each addicted individual in this regard, and to strive to prevent the formation of new addicted individuals. Addiction is a brain disease that arises from gaps. In this regard, we also want to ensure that people suffering from this problem can access this treatment without hiding behind any excuses or stigmatization. We also started this project by hiding the identity of people." "gelப் provides them with information. We will explain the stages of this treatment with our volunteer professional friends working in our Green Crescent consultancy centers. We will raise awareness by providing training within the scope of the addiction training program with our volunteer trainers."
ATÜ Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Başak Doğru Mert pointed out that universities should engage in some activities for social contribution in addition to their visions such as education, training, research, development and technology production, and said:
"Our university will actively take part in the project by offering the knowledge and experience of our academic staff on the subject and the work motivation of our students who play an active role in our campus as support for the project. We invite all actors who have taken part in the fight against addiction, who have personally been exposed to this addiction or who have been socially affected by it, to take part in this project, regardless of their identity, class or education level. Because this is a problem that we can only overcome if we join hands together."
