The eleventh ""School of Social Service"" event, a joint series of meetings between the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service and the Tabor Cultural Center, took place on September 8. The meeting was led by Archpriest Mikhail Potokin, Chairman of the Synodal Department for Charity. Archpriest Andrey Lazarev, head of the Orthodox center for assistance to dependent people in Kimry, was a guest.
"We should not give up on a person: to say that he will not be able to get out, will not want to or will not change," said Archpriest Mikhail Potokin, opening the meeting. According to him, a person's tragedy often begins with the disbelief of others, because as long as a person is alive, God believes in him.
Archpriest Andrey Lazarev spoke about the rehabilitation program of the Kimry Addiction Center and explained the role played by family, Church and professional support in the recovery of an addict.
"Our lives are measured by those people whom the Lord saved through us, helping them return to normal life," said Archpriest Andrey Lazarev. According to him, church service is based on helping a specific person, and not on striving for formal indicators.
Today, there are 271 divisions of the church's system of free assistance to drug addicts in Russia. Among them are 46 rehabilitation centers, 78 counseling centers, 22 resocialization centers, 4 motivation centers, 104 support groups. An interactive database of rehabilitation centers has been created. On the website protivnarko.ru A search engine is available that allows you to select the center yourself. There is also a single telephone number for church assistance to drug addicts: 8 800 600 16 93.