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There are two major problems that employees and society have to cope with - the integration of prisoners at liberty and reintegration of healed drug addicts into society. Half of the prisoners are drug addicts and there is still a lot to do to provide them all with access to consultations within the prisons, said the president of the therapy centre in Athens Gerasimos Notaras during a press conference where the report of the International Organization for Drug Control at the UN was presented.

According to research data, if a prisoner at liberty is not given the opportunity to integrate into society he will be back in prison after a year. Again, according to studies in America, for every dollar spent on integration and treatment $15 are saved that otherwise would be spent for health facilities and prisons. The task to return to normal life becomes even more difficult due to the economic crisis in Greece and the lack of jobs.  
 
The plan of the therapy centre in Athens is to develop infrastructure in the country and carry out medical programmes that have been launched in some cities already. To continue the development of the programme for alcoholic and gambling addicts as many people have applied to join it. The centre plans to open clinics in Exarchia and centre for psychological assistance to immigrants in Agos Pandeleymonas.

It is planned therapy stations to be opened in buildings owned by the centre, but they need repair. They are in areas where a large number of addicts gather like Omonia, Victoria Square, Agios Pandeleymonas. It is necessary the centre to be well staffed for the street programmes as most of the people who need treatment will not go to the centres themselves, noted Notaras.

The therapy centre has developed programmes for prisons to psychologically advise and support the men prisoners in Diavata and launched a programme for women prisoners in Eleon. The condition necessary for the development of programmes is the 8% already cut from the total budget for the centre granted annually by the state to be restored. Furthermore, an additional subsidy of around 2 million euro is needed for 2011 in order the programmes to be developed, Notaras said. It is imperative 90 people to be recruited this year to cover the needs of medical staff. New employees have not been appointed since 2006, said the president of the centre, and many are those who have left ever since.