23 years after the first house in Luxembourg City and three years after the second in Ettelbruck, a third "Impuls" institution has opened in Esch-sur-Alzette, where young addicts aged 13-21 can find support. The official inauguration took place on Friday.
Around 8,000 young drug users have benefited from the services since 1997. Three psychotherapists are available at the new location in the "Al Esch" quarter and will serve the community in the south of the country. "As 40% of 'Impuls' clients live here, it was important to finally offer their services in the Minette region", says René Meneghetti, director of the charity.
The location, which opened in April, saw a slow start due to the pandemic, but activities picked up in July. With the new school year, they are seeing much more use and are currently looking after 50 young users. Most of them still live at home and are either referred by the justice system, schools, or even family.
While 50 clients is a lot, Meneghetti says they are still coping, but would benefit from having 3 more therapists. This would enable them to do outreach in schools, which includes training teachers on how to deal with legal and illegal drug use. The charity also offers long term therapy abroad to its clients, where they can detox safely without having to wait for a placement in a Luxembourg hospital.
Meneghetti notes that cannabis use among young people has increased in recent years, notably since the issue of legalisation has entered public discourse: "We used to have 4-6% users, now we're at 14%!"
At Impuls, they often hear the argument "it's going to be legalised anyway!" Therefore, thorough prevention work is important before legalisation comes into force, according to the director.
