Healthy Communities

• Ensure the continuation and further development of CAACR's efforts to increase and promote drug/alcohol abuse prevention/intervention strategies/programs among the teenage population of Petrzalka.
• Mobilize the community for change.
• Facilitate an assessment of community health needs.
• Empower the community to prioritize and select issues in need of community solutions.
• Develop and implement of community intervention strategies.

• In the fall, the CEE and US Partners met to initiate the AIHA Healthy Communities planning process by organizing the first community meeting to examine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the Petrzalka residents.

• On January 8, the CEE partners signed a MOU with the US partners in Kansas City, Missouri. In addition to the MOU ceremony, the CEE partners received an overview of Kansas City's healthy community programs and met with leading professionals in the fields of community planning, epidemiology, health education, drug prevention and treatment programs.
• CEE partner formed a community coalition of key stakeholders in Petrzalka with assistance from US partners to conduct a drug usage survey for school children ages 12-18 years in the Petrzalka school districts.
• In September and October a demographic study of lifestyle of the Children and Youth of Petrzalka survey was conducted by FOCUS - Center for Social Research and Market Analyses, a research firm in Brastislava, with funding from AIHA.
• In 1996, CAACR began convening monthly Community Anti-Drug Forums to provide local residents with a platform to discuss rising rates of drug abuse among teenagers and prevention and treatment strategies with experts from the fields such as medicine, psychology, and government.

• The Petrzalka partner was invited to participate in the First National Conference of Health Prevention and Health Education, sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.
• CEE and US partners sponsored a four-day domestic violence workshop in October in Petrzalka, which was attended by 30 representatives from social services, judicial, and law enforcement agencies in Bratislava/Petrzalka. The president of Hope House, an anti-domestic violence organization, facilitated the workshop and provided the participants with a Slovak translation of the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic Violence handbook. (The translation and reproduction of the handbook was funded by AIHA.)
• CEE and US partners jointly presented the TMC Corporation/CAACR Healthy Communities Project at the AIHA Healthy Communities - Healthy Cities Dissemination Conference in November 19-21 in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia.
• CAACR established a community HELPLINE to assist residents of Petrzalka in their efforts to combat and reduce drug abuse usage in the community.

• Susan Else, President of Hope House, Independence, Missouri participated in the AIHA sponsored Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Conference in Kosice, Slovakia, March 18-20.
• March 22 marked the grand opening of the Hope Center in Petrzalka. His Excellency Ralph R. Johnson, U.S. Ambassador to the Slovak Republic delivered the opening address. The ceremony was attended by over 100 people, including local media, was broadcasted on one of the Slovak national television stations. The Hope Center is operated and managed by the CAACR and provides a 24-hour hotline to women and children with a focus and concentration on the prevention of domestic violence and drug abuse. The purpose of the Hope Center is to provide assistance, counseling to individuals and resources available to them in time of crisis.
• The Petrzalka Hope Center sponsered a poster contest for all children up to age 16 in June 1998. The two winning posters, entitled Silent Victims of Violence and Hotline for Help, were chosen by a local Bratislava artist and are being used to promote the Hope Centers in Petrzalka and Piestany. The posters include information on how to seek help and contact the Centers.

• Since 1995 the CEE partner has initiated numerous promotional activities/media campaigns to inform the Bratislava/Petrzalka community about the seriousness of drug abuse and mental health problems/issues of Petrzalka teenagers and adolescents (e.g., newspapers, radio, television, and drug forums).
• 816 children and youth between the ages of 12 to 18 participated in the demographic survey in Petrzalka. The principle conclusions of the survey included the following:
• 45% of the respondents experienced conflict that resulted in fighting during the previous year. Physical confrontation was almost exclusively among boys. 59% of boys have had a conflict at least once during the last 12 months, while among girls 29% experienced conflict.
• 61% of the respondents have experienced smoking, with 11% classified as heavy smokers, 4% as medium smokers, and 6% as occasional smokers.
• Approximately half of the respondents (49 %) know somebody in his surroundings who uses drugs. 29% know these individuals through friends and 14% know these individuals from their neighborhoods.
• 12% of the respondents have smoked marijuana at least once in their life. 2% of the respondents used heroin at least once in their life.
• 12% of the respondents reported that they had serious family problems.
• 20% of the respondents reported that they have positively considered committing suicide.
• Approximately 30 to 50 community residents participate in the monthly anti-drug forums.
• Over 40 vounteers were trained to respond to calls to the Crisis Hot Line. Over 60 calls are received per month for consultation, counseling and referral.
• CEE partner received the first International Governor's Award for Community Initiatives in Jefferson City, Missouri in the fall of 1996. This award is presented to community-based organizations honoring the achievements they have made using the Missouri Department of Health CHART planning process. Representatives of the AIHA/CEE/US partners and the Slovakia Embassy were present during the ceremony.
• With the assistance of a U.S. Peace Corp volunteer, the partners developed a viable ongoing marketing/promotional plan to increase the awareness of CAACR's efforts, and to create methods for fundraising activities to sustain the viability and continuation of CAACR.
• The establishment and sponsorship of a domestic violence center, "Hope Center for Battered Women," under the auspices of CAACR in Petrzalka. The Center was officially opened on March 22, 1998. Prior to the official opening, a press conference was held at the Bratislava Journalistic Club on March 17 to promote the new Hope Center.
• Dr. Jana Sturova, CAACR founder and psychologist, conducts a special radio talk show two to four times per month, and a special television show on an average of once a month, both on local Petrzalka stations. Dr. Sturova discusses topics such as social issues, domestic violence, and drug abuse and gives listeners an opportunity to call in and ask questions.
• As a result of the partnership, a community based anti-drug forum was established in 1997 in the city of Piestany, Slovakia, under the auspices of the CAACR. Piestany, a major spa and tourist site, is experiencing similar issues and problems in regard to the flow of illegal drugs into the community from outside Slovakia, resulting in significant increases in drug abuse among teenagers and young adults, sexually transmitted diseases and domestic violence.
• The Citizen's Association of Aid to Children at Risk received a 600,000 Sk grant ($17,200 approx.) from EUPHARE and the City of Petrzalka in the Fall of 1998. The grant enabled the foundation to hire four full-time employees to work on Domestic Violence issues and the Hope Center's Fundraising and Public Awareness campaign.