Liepāja Woman Sigita Čirkše Receives State Award for Ability to Help People Cope with Life Better Than Riga residents

While social workers in Riga struggle with bureaucracy and try to understand why their clients don't love filling out forms, Sigita Čirkše in Liepāja has been proving for ten years that addiction prevention can be done in a way that makes people come seeking help themselves. This is almost as miraculous as Liepāja's wind being able to blow from all directions simultaneously.

The Ministry of Welfare's Annual Award this year traveled to Liepāja, where Sigita's Addiction Prevention Center operates using a revolutionary method — "knowledge-based social work approach." In other words, they actually know what they're doing, which in Latvia's social sector is almost as rare as a sunny January.

"Our client numbers have been growing in recent years because people seek help themselves," says Social Service Director Dace Zeļģe. "This proves that our work really works." Which isn't surprising — if you can help people in Liepāja's windy environment, you can probably help anywhere.

Sigita's team regularly visits schools and tells young people about addiction risks. This is especially relevant in a city where the only addiction that's completely normal is addiction to University of Liepāja student parties, where even the heaviest exam periods become bearable. "We teach young people to distinguish healthy addiction from harmful ones," laughs local resident Jānis. "Addiction to the smell of the sea — good, addiction to other things — not so good."

At the award ceremony, Minister Reinis Uzulnieks emphasized that Liepāja's center is the only one of its kind in Latvia. "Of course it's the only one," comments local resident Maija. "Who else could work with addicts in our winds? It's like therapy and sports training at the same time."