LATVIA When Andre became an alcoholic, and his wife Svetlana was sentenced to prison, their children had to move in with another family. The family support centre in Valka helped him stop drinking, and after two years the family was reunited.

– I finally understood that my family is more important than alcohol, he says.

Andre and Svetlana are sitting in their kitchen together with Tatjana Voroncova, one of the social workers from the family support centre in the Latvian city of Valka. The apartment is on the top floor of a grey, torn-down block house on the outskirts of the city. Andre and Svetlana are trying to renovate as much as possible, but they don´t have much money left when rent and electricity is paid for so they are only able to buy very little paint at a time. The children´s room was a priority to get done first, and is now decorated with new wallpaper covered with small frogs and princesses.

Andre and Svetlana explain how grateful they are for the Red Cross family support centre. Their children are able to come to the centre after school, and during summer they can spend their whole days there.

– Our children like it better at the centre than at home, Andre says. There is nothing for them to do here, but at the centre they have computers, they can play games or paint. That would never be possible at home, he adds.

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT IMPORTANT

The family support centre has been helped financially by World Childhood Foundation since 2001, and is a service for social at-risk families in Valka. The city is one of the poorest in Latvia, with a high unemployment rate and numerous social problems. The staff at the family centre is working hard to help children in need, among other things by supporting their parents.

Thanks to the centre, and with support from Tatjana Voroncova, Andre finally managed to stop drinking. She came and visited Andre several times a week and talked to him about his abuse.

– I know how difficult it is to stop drinking, since I have been an alcoholic myself, Tatjana Voroncova explains. I want to help others, which to a large extent is done through emotional support. You can´t just tell someone not to drink.

It was difficult for Andre to turn the alcohol down. His friends came over and offered him liquor, and sometimes he did nothing but drink for several days. When Svetlana was sentenced to prison after committing a monetary crime, Andre was unable to take care of their children. Instead, they had to live with another family for a couple of years.

A NORMAL FAMILY AGAIN

Eventually, Andre managed to stop drinking, and Svetlana had completed her sentence and was released. Their three youngest children could now move back in with mom and dad.

– It´s fantastic to be a normal family again, Andre says.

Tatjana Voroncova is very happy that she could help the family. She stills comes to see them now and then, to keep an eye on them and to make sure the family is doing well. But it´s a soft kind of control, Tatjana says with a smile. She, Svetlana and Andre have become friends for life.

FACTS

Organisation: Valka Red Cross

Project: Family Support Centre

Partnership with Childhood: Since 2001

Location: Valka, Latvia

Target group: Socially at-risk children

Text: Maja Svenonius

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