Work on festivals
Magdaléna at festivals
The program Magdaléna at festivals is based on the three pillars of Harm reduction. Along with the field programs and contact centres, our organisation can cover a larger spectrum of risky behaviour associated with substance use in the Středočeský kraj.
Who is the service made for?
The target audience is people at risk of substance abuse including alcohol, or those affected by substance use in cases of specific entertainment. The goal is to minimise risks related to using or experimenting with addictive substances at places of entertainment and eliminate negative consequences like substance abuse, or the risk factors that come along with it.
What does our work at festivals look like?
The program is free. It takes the form of prevention and intervention actions at festivals or nightlife. Our primary focus is on risk reduction regarding to drinking alcohol or legal/illegal substance use. We monitor the area of the festival/club and address those at risk. We offer them food and rest in the chill-out zone, advice and risk intervention.
Community work
Community work is also essential. During the event we engage all attendees and the organisers. We give information in an understandable form about the risky behaviours and the services we provide, for example we inform bartenders about who they should reach out to if there is a problem. We also offer blood alcohol content breath tests and make sure everyone gets home safely. Furthermore we distribute basic harm reduction material, give information about our services, give primary medical care or expert treatment in cases of severe intoxication.
Besides the interventions focused directly on decreasing substance abuse-related risky behaviour, the program also focuses on certain risk factors associated with festivals and nightlife, such as risky sexual behaviour, abuse, damage to hearing, overheating and dehydration.
What does the presence of Magdalena give to festivals?
Our programs help with decreasing the number of hospitalised people due to using addictive substances and by doing so reduce the strain that’s put on rescue services or the festival workers. The program is complex and based on the Safer Clubbing strategy, a collection of approaches extracted from the Public Health concept. The service provided is a very professional and Evidence-Based one.
How to contact us?
We have professionals from the field of addictology, health care, social care and any related profession. All members also work in other services focusing on this target audience and are highly experienced with the different approaches used at festivals and clubs.
Contact us if you are interested in ensuring your event is safe, or want to provide staff training in approaches and interventions of Safe Clubbing.
Head of the Program
Mgr. Jiří Zatřepálek
Expert Direct of Tertiary Prevention, Magdalena o.p.s.
+420 739 309 401
zatrepalek@magdalena-ops.cz
Help with us
Addiction is a disease, not a choice
Divorce, being fired, death of a loved one, domestic violence, difficult childhood. Life situations anyone can experience. Those factors often lead up to addiction. In many cases addicts need help from others. This means that they require support from organizations like Magdaléna, o.p.s.
Support us
To run our organization we need financial support from donors. The annual maintenance costs us tens of millions of CZK. Your support will help us bring 7 out of 10 clients back into society and educate youth, so that they can avoid addiction.
