The Eurasian Harm Reduction Association invites clients of the opioid substitution therapy program to share their stories in personal blogs “A Day in the Life of a Substitution Treatment Client”. Clients of the program are the best experts in assessing the quality of the provided services. The selected stories will be published on the EHRA website and, with the author’s consent, will be used to promote questions regarding the quality of substitution therapy programs in the region.
We expect you to:
- Describe in lively simple language how the client’s day is arranged (what time it is necessary to get up, how long it takes to get to the clinic, what the building looks like, the surrounding space and the office itself. How the program is integrated into your life (work, children, other responsibilities))
- Share your feelings, emotions (How do you feel, what you think about when you go/drive for the medicine, stand in line, talk to a doctor, leave the office)
- Tell us how participation in the program affects your social life (Do your family members know? Colleagues at work? How do they feel?)
Stories must be written in Russian or English. Don’t worry about the literacy of the text, we will help you edit it.
Attach photographs to the story (for example, a bus stop, a road, a building, posters at the clinic/site, whatever you see fit or what matters to you and complements the story). You can insert quotes from doctors, relatives, colleagues, friends.
When selecting the winners, we will pay attention to:
- Completeness, richness of the text (20 points)
- Author’s style, eloquent and interesting presentation of the material (15 points)
- Reflection of problem areas/bottlenecks of the program (inconvenient location of the site, lack of take-home OST, inaccessibility of OST treatment in hospitals or prisons, staff rudeness, insufficiency of provided services, etc.) (35 points)
- Consistent, captivating story (30 points)
A total of 6 winners will be selected.
Winners of the contest will receive the monetary reward:
- 1 place – 500 USD
- 2 place (2 pc) – 400 USD
- 3 place (3 pc) – 250 USD
Looking forward to receiving your stories until August 1, 2021 at maria@harmreductioneurasia.org.