30% of drug addicts enrolled in the methadone program are foreigners. O number of users in Lisbon is increasingbut the support vans’ hours will be reduced by half due to lack of funds.
At 60 years old and already with 12 critical overdose situations, Ricardo is preparing for another daily medication against his main enemy.
For 14 years, this van next to Praça de Espanha, in Lisbon, has been like a second home. It was 34 years of consumption.
Ricardo already knows that from next week, April 9th, the van’s opening hours will be reduced by half due to lack of funds.
“It is not possible to continue. When this program was signed in 2006, with the budget we currently have, the minimum wage was 476 euros. At the moment, the minimum wage is 820”, says Elsa Belo, technical director of Ares do Pinhal.
The budget has not been updated for 18 years.
The only two methadone vans in the eastern and western areas of Lisbon, both available 12 hours a day, have their hours reduced by half.
Maria, clean from heroin, 14 years ago. She fears a setback in recovery. “For me, I think there will be a lot of relapses. Without methadone, we will have to find a replacement, which will be heroin (…)”, she admits.
The methadone provided by ARS reaches 1,300 users every day. 30% are already foreigners.
The methadone maintenance program is funded by the Institute for Addictive Behaviors and Addictions. 20% of the funds come from the Chamber of Lisbon.
