Georgiana Drăgan Moldoveanu, former addicts, local officials, representatives from the Romanian Police, actress Maia Morgenstern and priest Constantin Necula discussed drug use on the evening of September 21st in Sibiu during the "Say Yes to Life without Drugs" conference.

"At least one in ten Romanians between the ages of 15 and 64 has used drugs at least once in their life, here in our country. And it's true that the success rate of the Teen Challenge Romania program among those who complete it is over 90%. We're genuinely pleased with that. At the same time, the reality is that we have three centers, two for boys, one for girls, and a capacity of 40 beds. Think about how small that capacity is compared to the actual scale of the problem in our country. We're delighted to be here with Father Necula, with Dr. Holger Lux from the Blue Cross Association. Together with other organizations [...] we probably have a capacity of around 100 beds. What do I mean by that? The problem is much larger than the solutions we can currently provide, but there is a greater need to invest in prevention and awareness campaigns", stated Georgiana Drăgan Moldoveanu.

Teen Challenge Romania has a prevention program in which former drug users talk to teenagers about the dangers of addiction.

"There is a greater need to invest in prevention and awareness campaigns. (...) Just last year, we told the whole truth about drugs to over 10,000 people face to face. We have videos on YouTube with our life stories, on TikTok, and last year we had over 120,000 views with a team of no more than ten people, three employees and seven volunteers. Hence, if we, with our limited team, were able to accomplish something substantial, it logically implies that if society collectively engages in prevention and awareness campaigns, our impact would be considerably greater. After all, this year alone, nearly three million students have enrolled in schools. So there is a great need to go out there and tell them the whole truth about drugs", concluded Georgiana Drăgan Moldoveanu.

Georgiana shared her story in Sibiu for the second time this year: she smoked her first marijuana cigarette at the age of 17, which eventually led her to inject heroin, resulting in her becoming not only a patient in psychiatric hospitals, but also in surgery, being on the verge of having her right leg amputated. Both she and her brother resorted to stealing money and items from home and beyond to fund their drug habits, but they both underwent treatment at Teen Challenge Romania. Georgiana chose to work for the NGO that helped her overcome addiction and is currently a mentor for other young addicts.

"I was 17 when I first smoked marijuana, and at that time, I didn't think I would embark on such a horrible path that would destroy me and cause a lot of pain around me, especially to my mother and father. (...) I remember I was in the last years of my drug use, especially in the last year. I've been hospitalized several times in rehab and the doctors told me that I was probably irrecoverable. And no, I don't blame them because I also believed I was irrecoverable. I was diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, given medication, and was advised to take it for the rest of my life because otherwise, I would never be able to function as a normal person", Georgiana further shared during the meeting in Sibiu.