ARAS
ACCES
2023
program
ARAS
ACCES
2023
program
Drug consumption in Romania reached unprecedented dimensions in recent years, according to the annual reports published by the Romanian Anti-Drug Association (ANA), and in the last year, the topic has come to the attention of the public and the media in a resounding and controversial way, causing polemics and the polarization of public opinion, often involving influencers and recognized personalities from the online environment.
For more than 31 years ARAS has run prevention programs for HIV infection, and has learned that the prevalence of HIV transmission and other infectious medical conditions among injecting drug users is extremely high and increasing.
Given the current context, this year, ARAS, the Romanian Anti-AIDS Association, with the support of ANA started ACCES 2023, a campaign for the development of services for drug users.
The project aims to provide HIV, VHB and VHC harm reduction services, including the provision of integrated assistance to 1,000 injecting drug users in the Bucharest-Ilfov region.
More information about the ARAS initiatives in the harm reduction area can be found at www.arasnet.ro and www.reducereariscurilor.ro.
Brief
Through the ACCES 2023 program, ARAS intented to also promote harm reduction services for drug users, trying to share the message that drug addiction is a national health problem and the goal of harm reduction is to enable people who use drugs and their families to live healthy lives, self-determined, with meaning and social utility.
Health risks start, first of all, with the addiction and continue with physical and emotional health problems, infectious diseases and can reach overdose. Perhaps the biggest risk is that of addiction, because no one can know from the beginning how they will react, when trying out a drug. Addiction states for the repetition of behaviors that have major risks for health, for personal and professional relationships and for the life quality of the person and their loved ones. The families of people who are addicted to drugs are affected in the long term.
Insight
Promoting the ACCES 2023 program involves a deeper understanding of consumers behavior – why they use drugs and become addicted to them, what addiction means to them and their families, in order to get them to seek help.
According to the Behavioral Change Model, in the contemplation phase, the consumer is more open in seeking help for health and rehabilitation. Also, from beneficiaries’ testimonials, ARAS has learned, are reluctant to seek support due to lack of confidence in the process and safety & confidentiality concerns.
The GOOD Solution
The challenge of The Good Company within this project was to transmit, through the ARAS social media channels, a message of support, empathy, and inclusion to substance-dependent consumers, through which they gain confidence in accessing ARAS counseling and health services to reduce health risks, associated with consumption.
Concept: The message states that addiction transforms the user’s life, leading to isolation, fear for safety and health, guilt, loss of control, and significant health risks. ARAS is a safe place where the consumer and his family receive support and empathy. When all other doors seem to close, the ARAS door always remains open to those seeking help with harm reduction and to begin the journey from addiction to independence.
Message: An open door, the first step from dependence to independence.
Hashtag: #NuRununțămLaTine
Communication pillars
The campaign, although short term, brought to discussion on the ARAS social media channels several topics such as understanding what addiction means and what is it like to live with it, what are the health risks associated with drug use (from infectious diseases to emotional and mental disorders , overdose), ARAS services in the harm reduction area (a safe space, syringe exchange service, psychological counseling, substitute treatment, support for affected families), about ARAS centers and last but not least, the testimonials of addicted consumers helped by the organization, as a way to motivate addicted consumers to seek help.
Such a campaign has a certain degree of novelty for ARAS, being the first campaign for ARAS financed through public funding by ANA and one of the few communication initiatives, at this moment in Romania, and which may encounter resistance from the public who is uneducated and lacks understanding of the substance addiction phenomenon, consumers are stigmatized and fear the moral and legal consequences of consumption, being reluctant to seek and accept support.
Amplifying the message is also a long-term endeavor, but with rising perspectives. Although on a closer look we can find rather easily people who struggle with addiction of substances, the content creators and opinion leaders who approach this topic in a well-founded and informed way are still few, most influencers being still too little prepared and insufficiently involved in understanding the phenomenon, in order to become an authentic and credible voice for their communities.
TEAMS
Account Management
Ana Stănel – Managing Partner
Magda Topolică – Account Director
Alexandra Stanciu – Senior Account Executive
Mona Barbu – Social Media Specialist
Creative
Florence Mărgărit – Creative Director
Flavia Fabian – Graphic Designer
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