This story is true, but changed to preserve anonymity. The story of Jakub (name has been changed) shows how easily a teenager can find himself outside the system - not because of the refusal of help, but because of its incompleteness. Early intervention, cooperation between institutions and a human approach are the keys to prevent similar stories from becoming commonplace.
Introduction: One of many, but still exceptional When you first meet him, you don't see a "drug addict" or a troubled student. You see a seventeen-year-old boy who laughs when talking about his friends and looks away awkwardly when the conversation turns to school. Jakub could be anyone - a student who likes music, a group and the feeling of freedom. But behind this facade hides the story of a young man who lost his way before he could even find it.
Family: Silence between four walls Jakub grows up in a complete family. The father works from morning to evening as a bricklayer, mother as a shop assistant. Both of them try their best to ensure that the family does not lack anything - while losing the most important thing: time and attention.
"Dad hardly sees me," says Jakub quietly. "He's always at work. By the time he comes home, I'm usually gone or asleep."
There is no open conflict in the family, but neither is there closeness. The mother suffers from psychological problems that she doesn't solve much by herself, and the son thus repeats her silent escape - only by different means. Marijuana, later meth. "It helps me focus," he says. In fact, it helps him not to think.
Youth home: The place where decisions are made At the youth home, where Jakub lives because of school, his problems were fully manifested. Two incidents – first alcohol, later drugs. Conditional exclusion, regime measures, educational commissions.
"He is a nice boy," says the teacher, who does not want to be named. "But he just doesn't work without marijuana. He gets up in the morning, lights up. In the evening - the same thing. When we caught him, he wasn't even aggressive. He just pretended not to understand why it bothered him."
From the point of view of the school and the youth home, everyone did what they could: they recommended a psychiatrist, contacted the Organization for Social and Legal Protection of Children (OSPOD), offered help. However, the system ended where a personal decision begins. Jakub was in psychiatry once - due to pressure from his parents. He was given medication that he does not want to take because he feels "intoxicated" after it.
Inside the Head: Derealization and Denial Jakub lives in a fog. His diagnosis – depersonalization and derealization disorder – means that he sometimes perceives the world around him as unreal. He doesn't talk much about it himself, rather he hides it behind insight and irony. "Sometimes I feel like I'm not quite here," he said during an interview with the school psychologist.
In those moments, the drug gives him the false feeling that he is "returning to reality". Addiction thus becomes a natural solution, not a problem.
A system that watches from afar The school informed the relevant authorities. OSPOD conducted an investigation - and postponed the matter. A psychiatrist was visited, but the cooperation did not continue. The family does not perceive the situation as critical. "We gave him contacts, offered help," says the school's prevention methodologist. "But he has to want. And if he doesn't want to, we won't do it for him," he adds.
This refrain is repeated across institutions - he must want. But an adolescent like Jakub often does not know what he really wants.
Forecast: On the edge of tomorrow Jakub is about to change schools. Maybe it will be a new beginning, maybe just another escape. The prognosis is uncertain - rather unfavorable. His addiction is psychological in nature, but without the intervention of experts it can easily develop into a severe form.
However, several lights remain in the darkness: he is not aggressive, he does not commit criminal activity, he knows how to talk about his feelings. And somewhere deep in him is the knowledge that it can't go on like this.
Conclusion: What about Jakub - and those who are like him Jakub's story is not about an exceptional failure, but about an ordinary system that looks - but does not reach. The school can offer support, youth home supervision, OSPOD control. But without an active family and professional intervention, help remains only on paper.
Resocialization - that is, the process of returning to normal functioning - is not a punishment, but a chance. For Jakub, it has not been fulfilled yet. There is still hope that someone from his surroundings will be able to reach out in time.
Author: Bc. Jan Brychta, Ed.D. Home of youth, Poděbrady Hotel School, contribution organization