Teenagers come in to use the sports facilities and stay behind to chat with one of the young psychologists. Even though the Centre officially opened only in 1994,4,268 people had come to the Centre by April 1995, nearly half of them children. There are now 14 remedial groups for children and six other groups for activities such as art, cookery and music, often run by volunteers another sign that the community has truly adopted the Centre. And, says Elena, the results can be spectacular. A group of the worst pupils from School 22 came here to celebrate a national holiday.
People are embarrassed.
They say, 'it's a small town. Everyone knows me'. They have lost the habit of sharing their worries. Under the Soviet regime,before perestroika, they had learned not to speak their minds. Meanwhile, the abolition of the church, cultural traditions and national languages in the Soviet era deprived three generations of the resources to get through hard times.