Construction has begun on the Community Mental Health and Addictions Center in the Pacucuá neighborhood of Encarnación, a space dedicated to early detection and rehabilitation of drug addicts. The initiative is led by national deputy Sebastián “Cheba” Remesowski and has the support of Health Minister María Teresa Barán, the director of the Yacyretá Binational Entity (EBY), Luis Benítez, and representatives of the National Republican Association (ANR), who donated the property for the project.
“We could not look the other way while seeing families suffer from this reality. We knocked on doors and achieved real solutions so that Encarnación has a space for care and rehabilitation,” Remesowski said. Minister Barán highlighted that “it is proven that the best place for a person to rehabilitate is within the family and community,” and noted that this is the third such center under construction in the country.
The director general of Mental Health, Mirta Rodríguez, explained that the center will operate with a community focus and an interdisciplinary team composed of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and occupational therapists. The space will have rooms for group activities, where families will receive guidance on dealing with mental disorders and problematic consumption. “The goal is to have spaces that allow us to work not only on care but also on promotion, prevention, and rehabilitation,” Rodríguez said.
In addition to the center, Remesowski has been promoting the “Goles por mi Barrio” program since 2017, which has already benefited more than 10,000 children and young people in Encarnación through sports and infrastructure improvements in winning neighborhoods. The program is a tool for drug use prevention, promoting integration and healthy values.