The emergency state introduced in May prompted me and the whole BPF staff to reevaluate our activity, and to look for new ways to contact our target groups. This was crucial for everybody, since boredom, loneliness and existential uncertainty induced by the curfew intensified the symptoms of addictions.
Support groups for addicts and for relatives were the first to be transferred into the online sphere. This had the advantage of being able to connect even for those, who were not in the country. Nevertheless, it had its drawbacks as well, since being at home, together with the addicted family member, it was difficult for some to create their privacy necessary for the participation in the online meeting. Older people were not acquainted with modern technique and online presence. However, there were some grandchildren who helped grandma getting online. Phone calls were used with those, who had no Internet.
Online counseling and pastoral care was advertised as well, but not many resorted to it. Experience shows, that nothing makes up for the face-to-face meeting. However, it proved to be a temporary help in some cases to not stop a therapeutic process already started. We would like to keep this form of counseling for those, who cannot meet us face-to-face, like those people who approached us from abroad.
“There Is Life After Addiction” is the title of the interactive on-line talk series we started and plan to continue on a two-weeks basis. The first topic was anxiety and freedom, followed by the role of relatives, their possibilities to help the addict, the third having been the relationship between health and alcohol consumption. This is more of an after-care kind series followed by people who had some contact with us through participating at some BPF-program.
Feedbacks show that the Sunday worships aired from the TC are popular mainly among relatives of the clients in the long-term therapy, who are able this way to connect with the homely atmosphere of the Center, but former clients and participants of various other programs follow the worships also.
We thank God for the strength He gave for all these, and that He showed again that nothing is impossible for Him. We need only to follow Him and take the opportunities offered by Him.
Éva Bartha
