Oriol Esculies: “Five million people in this country have problems with alcohol”
Projecte Home Catalunya is organizing a Charity Market in a venue on Trafalgar street which has been temporarily and freely provided by Núñez i Navarro
Christmas is approaching and around us, festivals, concerts, markets, and other events organized by NGOs and foundations multiply, which, in our eyes, emerge from their anonymity during these weeks when we seem more inclined to care about others. One such entity is Projecte Home Catalunya, a Catalan foundation born under the umbrella of the national Projecte Home. Among its activities is a Solidarity Market where Núñez i Navarro collaborates by providing a space free of charge for three months at number 11 Trafalgar Street. At the market, open from Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 1:30 pm and from 5 pm to 8 pm, you can find a wide variety of products donated by the courier company Chrono Express, which is legally obliged to destroy or donate after a certain time all those products that could not be delivered or that their recipients did not come to collect. This extensive stock includes electronic items, shoes, clothing, books, and any object that can be sent by parcel service.
The relationship between Núñez i Navarro and Projecte Home Catalunya dates back to the times when Josep Lluís Núñez was president of F.C. Barcelona. Not for nothing, he himself inaugurated the first center of the entity in Catalunya, located in Montgat. “He played a key foundational role. The first “No Drugs” match was played at Camp Nou and the proceeds went to open Proyecto Hombre Catalunya. And it was played there because Núñez wanted to be involved in the drug problem that Spain was suffering from. Those first matches played in the 90s helped to finance the activities of Proyecto Hombre at the national level”, asserts Oriol Esculies, director of Projecte Home Catalunya.
Since then, the foundation has become one of the most popular NGOs in the fight against drugs through three lines of action that have evolved over time. The first line, “a targeted care program aimed, on one hand, at adolescents from 13 to 20 years old, who are using cannabis. And on the other hand, at adults with addiction problems to cocaine or alcohol, which depending on the level of addiction can be for a few hours, in a Day Center, or 24 hours in residential centers for people who need continuous care because they cannot stop consuming”.
The second line of action of Projecte Home Catalunya is the prevention of substance abuse. This prevention is carried out mainly in schools, to ensure that students are better equipped to deal with potential risk situations. This work, done in collaboration with teachers and parents, focuses on concepts such as self-esteem, communication, and relationships with parents. “The more resources and effort we put into prevention work, the less we will have to dedicate to helping those who have problems”, argues Esculies. And the third and final line of action focuses on social awareness through press conferences, the presentation of annual reports, and raising awareness among political groups to include the problems caused by drugs in our society on their agenda.
Since its inception in 1996, the foundation has been observing how the types of substances being consumed have changed, shifting from heroin to cocaine in adults and to cannabis in adolescents. But above all, it has detected a worrying decline in the perception of risk. According to Oriol Esculies, “we have never had so many people in treatment as we do now, and yet we have never been so insignificant in public opinion as we are today”. Among the factors for this relaxation in society, the director of Projecte Home Catalunya highlights the chronic nature of the problem and the social alarm: “Before, drug dependency was associated with crime and the spread of infectious diseases like HIV. Nowadays, that association is no longer made and it is seen as a domestic problem. And therefore, it becomes invisible. This does not help in addressing the issue and in allocating more resources to assist so many people”.
In addition to problematic substance abuse, Projecte Home Catalunya also addresses other minority pathologies: “addictions to technology, mobile phone use, tablets, video games, and online betting”. But of all these, “alcoholism is the main addiction issue in this country. 80% of the population consumes it, and there is a problematic consumption rate of between 10 and 15%. That's a lot of people. We're talking about five million people with alcohol-related problems”. The fact that it is a legal substance makes it difficult for society to perceive the risk, and access is very easy due to its low price. “The cost of a 20-beer case at the supermarket is the same as a movie ticket”. The solution, according to Esculies, would involve developing legislation that increases alcohol taxes. “But Spain has very powerful lobbies that, whenever there has been any proposed law to toughen access to alcohol, have prevented it. There are too many economic interests behind”, he laments.
Fortunately, there is no shortage of institutions and private companies that understand and support the struggle of Projecte Home Catalunya and that back its social cause. If you believe that drug and alcohol consumption is a problem that affects us all and you are planning to support a social cause for Christmas, Núñez i Navarro offers you this opportunity: collaborate with Projecte Home by purchasing your Christmas gifts at the Trafalgar street market or by attending the charity concert that the Jove Orquesta Nacional de Catalunya will perform at L’Auditori on Sunday, January 7th, for the benefit of Projecte Home Catalunya.
