Prevention Service

Aġenzija Sedqa boasts a fully dedicated team of professionals for its Prevention Services. The team consist of 19 professionals, amongst which are social workers, youth workers, teachers and psychology graduates. They offer services aimed at giving the right information to the general public as well as helping people to learn or enhance basic life skills that can lead to a healthy lifestyle away from addictions. This is done through diverse programmes for different cohorts of the general population.  

The prevention team tackle addictions and the necessary life skills needed to live a healthy lifestyle. The sessions or programs are tailored according to the audience’s needs and thus different learning methods are used according to the audience’s needs and capabilities. The programs are reviewed thoroughly and are culturally and evidence based.

Within the educational sector, the Prevention Service offer different programmes, namely T.F.A.L. 3, T.F.A.L. 5, ‘Teen Outside the Box’ and B.A.S.H.

T.FA.L 3 program (tfal favur ambjent liberu) is aimed for grade 3 students and offer basic life skills by tackling the topics of feelings and self image, peer pressure, coping skills, addictions, the private body and asking for help when needed. The use of characters, songs and the workbook is used to help the children to understand the topics more.

The T.F.A.L 5 program is a continuation of the T.F.A.L 3 program. The topics discussed include self-love and coping skills, peer pressure and decision making, addictions, drugs and wise use of medicine and also wise use of technology and gambling. Stories, games, workbook and discussions are used to faciliate the understanding of the topics mentioned. If children attend up to 80% for both programs, they are awarded with an MQF level 2 certificate. Both of the programs are offered to all the schools around Malta and Gozo be it state, church or independent schools.

For the grade 8 students, the ‘Teen Outside the Box’ program is being offered. The aim of the program is to help the students to accept themselves while living life freely without being influenced by other youths. The topics covered include coping skills and decision making, wise use of technology and addictions. The program is also offered to all the schools yet in the state schools it is being done in collaboration with the Anti-Substance abuse team.

The B.A.S.H program is aimed for the students who are attending post- secondary or tertiary level of  education. The B.A.S.H program (Beyond Alcohol and Substance Highs) includes 3 exhibitions where informal education is used through the use of quizzes or interactive games. The topics include drinking and driving, stress management and coping skills and addictions. When discussing the topic of drinking and driving, the law is elicited while emphasises is being done on the importance of not driving if one has been drinking alcohol. As a result, different ways of arriving home are explored to encourage students to be safe and plan ahead by using taxes or having designated drivers. When discussing stress, different stressors are identified and different coping skills are explored with the students. In the 3^rd exhibition, different addictions are identified, and different ways of having fun are discussed without using substances. Emphasis is done on the importance of asking for help when someone has an addiction.