Icelandic state radio, RÚV, is reporting that more children and teenagers in Iceland are homeless. According to Ingi Bæringsson, a counsellor at the Hvítárbakki Treatment Centre in Borgarfjördur north of Reykjavík, over the last decade it has become much easier for young people to get access to drugs and alcohol. Children as young as thirteen have been using needles for drug use. Bæringsson also contends that child prostitution is increasing. An increase in organized and harsher violence accompanies this rise in use. There were no specific statistics reported.
Iceland Review’s next issue, available in December, focuses on various issues of health in Iceland, including a profile of the country’s largest treatment center for drug and alcohol rehabilitation, SÁÁ.
