Synanon Foundation
| Synanon Foundation | |
|---|---|
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| Legal form: | Foundation, endowment |
| Purpose: | Addiction withdrawal through help for self-help |
| Chair: | Uwe Schriever |
| Consist: | since 1982 |
| Seat: | Berlin |
| Website: | synanon-aktuell.de |
The Synanon Foundation is a self-help organization that supports substance-dependent people in leading an abstinent life. It was launched in West Berlin in 1971 as Release Berlin e. V. founded. Later the founders named the association based on the American organization Synanon Inc. in Synanon International e. V. before the project was absorbed by the Synanon Foundation. Members often call the organization and themselves synanists or synanon community .
history
Release Berlin, 1971 to 1975
In 1968 Irene and Ingo Warnke turned to the psychotherapist Walther H. Lechler about their drug addiction . He recommended them the book The Tunnel Back, Synanon by Lewis Yablonsky , which covers the Synanon community in the United States and their success in drug therapy.
In April 1971 they both moved into the Release Heidelberg house with their two-year-old daughter . They were hoping for a drug help facility but couldn't find it. So they began to realize Synanon themselves, as they needed it and understood from Yablonsky's book: No drugs, no violence, sober living together and with one another, open to any addict who wants that too. When there was tension between older Release residents, five drug-free addicts moved to Berlin in the fall of 1971. There Joachim Christoph, Olaf Donner, Jovita Halt, Ralph Rogalla, Konrad Tidow, Ingo Warnke and Irene Warnke founded the therapy association Release Berlin e. V.
Synanon International, 1975 to 1999
When a connection to Synanon in the USA was established in 1975 through the mediation of a Berlin Alcoholic Anonymous in California, there was an offer from there to use the name Synanon in Germany as well. In order to clearly differentiate itself from other release groups, the name was changed to Synanon International e. V . To distinguish it from the national synanon of the USA, the founders chose the addition International . Even if that seemed a bit big to a group of around 20 people in a Kreuzberg factory building on Bernburger Strasse, the international proved to be correct. Because soon drug addicts from different countries were living together in the community. In addition to the association, the foundation of the same name was set up in 1982 .
In the years 1996 and 1997 Synanon got into a severe economic crisis that had become apparent some time before. Gross management errors, miscalculations and a lack of basic commercial knowledge of those responsible at the time became apparent. There were also internal differences of opinion between those responsible. The major projects that had begun in Berlin (430 residential spaces) and in Schmerwitz (around 1,000 residential spaces) turned into an economic fiasco. The existence of addiction self-help was acutely threatened.
There was also professional criticism of the concept of the community, in which there is no such thing as “classical therapy”, but instead relies on lay therapists and strict control. Among other things , Bernhard Albrecht wrote in Deutsches Ärzteblatt in 1999: “The organization's reputation in the drug scene is not the best. Critics accuse Synanon of totalitarian structures and 'brainwashing'. However, long-term successes in drug and alcohol abstinence are undeniable. "
In this situation, the management turned to the Berlin businessman and real estate manager Uwe Schriever with the request to temporarily support Synanon as a commercial advisor. Schriever, who had already helped Synanon in the 1970s, agreed. With the mandate of the board of directors, he took over the commercial support and advice of Synanon, and later became head of the foundation. In 2005, Schriever received the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon from the then Federal President Horst Köhler . The Paritätische Wohlfahrtsverband had already awarded him the Paritätische Badge of Honor three years earlier . Schriever uses the premises of the Malchow estate as the headquarters of his company Askanisches Quartier GmbH .
The trust of politics, society and the public in the self-help for addicts Synanon was initially lost, but could only be rebuilt with great difficulty in the following years. Those in charge made great efforts to stabilize Synanon economically and to create the framework for the continuation of the work. In 1997 the management was dismissed, a controlling system was installed and the continuous expansion of the special-purpose operations was promoted. This began with a streamlining of the work organization. Education and training of Synanon residents should become future priorities.
Since 1999: Synanon Foundation
On January 1st, 1999, after almost two years of intensive renovation work, the Synanon Foundation took over the addiction support tasks of Synanon e. V. With this, Synanon carried out the structural and content-related change visibly to the outside world. From now on there was strict cost control, transparency and openness. Since then, the top priority has been the preservation of the foundation's assets in order to ensure the statutory purposes of self-help. Synanon became a member of the German Donation Council on July 1, 2002 .
Prominent personalities from politics and society such as Eberhard Diepgen , former Governing Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Riebschläger , a former Senator for Finance of Berlin who died in 2009, Peter Rohrer , former Commerzbank director, were able to contribute to the voluntary work in the Board of Trustees of the Synanon Foundation . D., Ursula Birghan , long-standing member of the Berlin House of Representatives , the lawyer and notary Nikolaus Ley , who died in 2015, and Barbara John , Chairwoman of the Paritätischer Landesverband Berlin. This resulted in a gradual generation change in the management and supervision of the Synanon Foundation. In 2000, the last responsible persons from the founding period left their positions and the board of directors and the board of trustees were reorganized. In April 2000 the company and the agricultural land in Schmerwitz were sold to a private investor. Despite previously initiated and intensively pursued redevelopment measures that ran parallel to those in Berlin, it was not possible for the new managers to keep Synanon Gut Schmerwitz GmbH running .
Despite the undesirable developments, Synanon is still of the conviction that only strict abstinence shows a silver bullet out of drug addiction and that every addict should at least try this way. By opening up to the outside world, Synanon tries to win back the trust of politicians and the public and to inspire them for Synanon's idea. It is discussed whether smoking should be allowed for the first time, the regulation not to throw away food should be relaxed and the ban on eating while standing should be lifted.
In 2013, the organization bought the former manor house of the estate in Berlin-Malchow , Dorfstrasse 9, along with part of the site and empty utility buildings. In the spring of 2016, the culture hall, dining room, kitchen and scullery were still in makeshift containers, but these were gradually converted into permanent building locations. In June 2016, the foundation and Berlin politics organized an anniversary celebration on the occasion of the 45th anniversary, at which the self-refurbished energy storage facility was inaugurated as a dining room with kitchen.
During the period mentioned, around 28,000 people went to the self-help facility, most of them being able to lead a new, addiction-free life. Unfortunately, more than 27,000 people left the Synanon Foundation after a short or long stay in the period mentioned. In the summer of 2016, around 80 people lived on the estate.
Therapy content
The following rules apply to members in Synanon:
- no drugs, no alcohol, no mind-altering drugs,
- no violence or threats,
- no tobacco, we don't smoke.
Synanon sees itself as a temporary school of life . The aim is to learn a self-determined, responsible lifestyle without addictive substances and without crime. According to Synanon, every drug addict has the ability to lead a drug-free life again. An abstinent life in the community, self-help group discussions and regular daily routines should facilitate the way there . The guiding principles are “sober up with your hands” and “sober up together”.
Synanon works in the spirit of a therapeutic community . All employees are affected, there are no therapists. Methodically, the work is referred to as evidence-based therapy , with the elements of increasing motivation, stress management training, social skills training and a community-based reinforcement model. Up to 800 people per year take advantage of the offer of immediate admission, sometimes with their children. There are no preconditions. Addicts whose prison sentence has been converted into a therapy requirement in accordance with Section 35 ff of the BtMG can also accept the offer.
Since mid-2012, “those affected […] who are in an opioid substitution program and who want to leave this program” have been offered the option of “medically accompanied, reasonable, gradual discontinuation of methadone or buprenorphine 'within' the Synanon House as part of the known Synanon rules ”.
Since the 2015s, more than a third of the people living in Synanon have been under 25 years of age, and the trend is rising. A few years ago, an extensive range of training and further education in commercial and manual professions was created for this age group. The practical training takes place in special-purpose companies , including a laundry, cleaning, moving, disposal and catering services, a carpentry, painting and ceramic workshop, construction assistance, horticulture and maintenance, house maintenance and a riding school. All work is subject to social security contributions. In addition, Synanon supports its residents in civil and criminal matters and in aftercare. This ranges from financial and material start-up assistance to the placement of apartments and jobs.
Finance and Success
Synanon finances itself primarily from the income from work in the special-purpose companies and through the ALG II of its members, supplemented by donations and grants, etc. a. Fines .
On behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health , a catamnesis of the self-administered addiction aid Synanon was published in 1997 , taking into account the formation of social networks in Germany. The results, according to which 70 percent of addicts are supposed to stay sober after living in Synanon for two to three years, spoke in favor of successful addiction self-help work by Synanon.
According to a study by Fredersdorf around 2001, at least 33 percent of 205 former Synanon members recorded were permanently abstinent from alcohol and other drugs . According to another calculation, the number of abstainers is 70 percent.
literature
- Synanon, for a life without drugs . Self-published, Berlin 1981, ISBN 3-9800621-0-4 .
- Wolfgang Wiesner: Life without drugs - addicts help themselves . Wilhelm Heyne, Munich 1987.
- Hans-Christian Petersen: Learning to live without drugs, the Synanon project . Patmos, Düsseldorf 1992, ISBN 3-491-79429-3 .
- Ingo Warnke: Synanon, the island of survival . In: Karin Dohmen (Ed.): Drugs - a challenge for school and society . Aulis-Verlag, Cologne 1993, ISBN 3-7614-1485-4 .
- Monika Thamm, Berndt Georg Thamm: The earth carries us all, 25 years of Synanon . 1996, ISBN 3-9800621-5-5 .
- Frederic Fredersdorf: Life Without Drugs - Two Decades of Synanon - A Documentation . 1994, ISBN 3-89271-499-1 .
- Frederic Fredersdorf: Addiction, self-help and social networks. A 4-year follow-up . 2001, ISBN 3-87581-182-8 .
Web links
- Literature by and about Synanon Foundation in the catalog of the German National Library
- Synanon Foundation website
Individual evidence
- ↑ Synanon: Admission immediately Flyer Synanon 2016, PDF, accessed on March 29, 2017, online
- ^ Bernhard Albrecht: Drogenselbsthilfegemeinschaft Synanon: An alternative to professional addiction help? In: Dtsch Arztebl 1999; 96 (12): A-761 / B-623 / C-583 . ( Online ).
- ↑ Askanisches Quartier GmbH , homepage, online, accessed on March 28, 2017
- ↑ Synanon leaves the glittering city center on tagesspiegel.de , online, from November 25, 2013, accessed on March 26, 2017
- ↑ we're moving.
- ↑ Synanon 2015 Activity Report , PDF, online, from September 2016, accessed on March 29, 2017
- ↑ Out of addiction into new life. The 'Synanon' facility for addicts with 'help for self-help' has existed for 45 years . In: Berliner Woche , August 17, 2016, p. 3.
- ↑ Allocation of fines at synanon-aktuell.de, online, accessed on March 27, 2017
- ↑ Catamnesis of the self-administered addiction aid SYNANON taking into account the formation of social networks in Germany. In: Synanon.de. 2010, accessed September 5, 2012 .
- ^ Fredersdorf: Addiction, Self-Help and Social Networks . 2001.