Model “Picas y Pláticas”

Presentation:

It is not an expensive proposal that requires a lot of equipment and with an accessible technique that allows the people who are trained in this methodology to access easily.

We consider that no intoxicated person and much less with a drug deependency can be interested in modifying their lifestlye, or even retain basic knowledge. Therefore our objective of social reintegration requires a long term and complex process in which this population is trained, educated having an increased self esteem, first fighting the obstacle of the drug addiction.

Based on the previous concept, the Fundación Renacimiento together with two experts structured a model of attention combining the techniques of Acupuncture and Psychotherapy with highly successful results. The project is supervised by tow recognized experts in their field.

Acupuncture:

Acupuncture consists of stimulating specific points in the skin through the insertion of 5 needles in each ear and 2 on the head during 20 minutes every day and the recommendation is to apply it for 6 months.

Psychological intervention:

The psychological intervention is called “pláticas” (chats). The chats are a brief psychotherapy specially designed for a population with very specific characteristics such as living in the street and with a biography full of external and self destructive aggressions. The psychological intervention is aimed at understanding and changing the emotional aspects that encourage the consumption of drugs; the purpose of the physiologic intervention is detoxification and to reduce the compulsion towards addictive substances; social intervention is channeled towards learning new ways of human interaction.

Results:

Something very important is that the results are achieved using non aggressive practices, without side effects or generating dependency, without medication nor internment, which is very important since it is a treatment that does not violate nobody’s rights or integrity, therefore it has been a different and appealing alternative for the population we take care of, and in addition, to the population in general. In this treatment the patient himself discovers its benefits, recovering his self esteem and stimulating his personal development; the results are apparent in the first 15 days in the average patients. After 6 months, when the treatment is over, you can observe noticeable changes in the consumption. In addition it is a treatment that goes beyond the objective of detoxification, since supported on the social network (family, school, recreation, sports, psychological attention, medical) it makes the comprehensive recovery of the person easier, having an impact on changing to healthier lifestyles, thus resulting in the overall well being of those who receive it.

Today we are applying the proposal to open population who has demanded the attention and the results have been satisfactorys.

Sports tournament Mundialito

The Torneo deportivo Mundialito starts in 1997 (in the beginning also called “Callejero”). In the beginning it got together 800 children and adolescents living in the street and at risk; today it has doubled the number getting together 1600 participants in average.

It is a sports competition that allows the participants to concentrate on sports for one month, they learn how to work in teams; something very important it achieves is that during this time they are more concerned about something else rather than drugs, which helps increase their self esteem when they see what they are capable of doing and be concerned about performing well in front of others, to achieve the success that makes them worthy of an attractive prize.

Metropolitan Contest of Offerings for the Day of the Dead

Following the same trend of making the population interested in positive competitive activities, since 1996 we have the Metropolitan Contest of Street Offering for the Day of the Dead that also gets together 1600 children and teenagers that live in the street or are at risk, which has received the valuable support of the UNESCO through their representation in Mexico.

This contest contributes to preserve the Mexican traditions, it promotes research since the offering have to agree with the tradition and not contain elements of another culture, it encourages team work and in the end there is an interesting photographic exhibit of the offerings of the different participating organizations and groups.

The winners of the first places receive a prize of a trip within Mexico for one week in which they coexist in an atmosphere of friendship, affection, peace, harmony and respect, which allows to sensitize them for a change of lifestyle making some of them interested in a shelter program, a detoxification treatment and leaving the street when they come back.