Our social work begins at the moment that the door of AMOC is opened to admit and welcome a client. In our view, the whole range of assistance offered - from the reception in the Teestube, and the possibility of showering and a night''s rest in the Night Shelter, to the personal interview - comprise social-work tasks. AMOC offers a broad range of facilities which our clients can make use of.

Newcomers are given an admission interview. In view of the fact that they have the right to know what kind of institution we are, we explain what they can expect. On the other hand, we want to know who the newcomers are, what questions they have, and whether or not they belong to our target group. If they do not qualify on this last point, we do not just send them away, but find out where they can still get help, confer with and refer them on to other institutions, and sometimes nevertheless allow them to make a once-only use of our basic range of facilities. Admission interviews can often be very intensive, because we try to obtain a clear picture of the problem situation and, if possible, we want to give an impulse towards a solution. We take a great deal of time over these admission interviews, even if that is sometimes at the expense of other waiting clients, who are already receiving regular counselling. Even though over the course of the years we have built up experience and expertise in the counselling of drug-users, each newcomer, with his or her own story and problems, is yet another inspiration to seek for new solutions. Solutions which may lie in the country of origin, such as, for example, criminal problems, or - temporarily - in the Netherlands. We offer clients support, develop a step-by-step plan and follow a certain course. This may be interrupted by circumstances (e.g. arrest, illness). As soon as the situation has stabilised, we pick up the thread again. In addition, we have to react to crisis situations every day. In practice, this means taking direct action and not waiting. There are innumerable examples in which staff have spontaneously jumped on a bicycle to collect from somewhere a client who is not capable of walking, or accompanied to the GG&GD someone who urgently needed medical help.

Moreover, we conduct continual discussions with referring/collaborating agencies, report on developments and register changes in order to be able to react to them adequately. We make sure that the client lives up to agreements, is accompanied to the consulate or to the train, we go with them to the aliens department of the police force, or write a statement so that the police accept the report of a loss of passport. We decidedly wish to work towards the clients'' independence and acknowledgement of their own responsibility, but in some situations they find it frightening and do not feel safe about going alone.
Sometimes, the health condition of clients deteriorates so swiftly that an early intervention can prevent worse problems. For these cases, the Night Shelter is of great importance. A few nights'' proper sleep, medical care and psychosocial assistance work wonders. When we bought medicines from the chemist for a non-insured patient, the doctor who had written the prescription reacted: ''My word, how nice you are, and how good that this is possible.'' Yes, of course, it has to be done, doesn''t it? This attitude makes our manner of working so special and reliable, both to associate institutions and to the clients.

As well as the daily work with the clients, we receive many telephone calls from associate institutions in the Netherlands and abroad, who have a specific question concerning clients whom they are counselling. AMOC is known everywhere for its extensive knowledge in very divergent areas of work. We mediate, look up information and arrange that our colleagues come along to our consultation hours with the clients concerned, or we ourselves go along to the associate institution. The aim of our intervention is that our colleagues will ultimately be able to go further with their clients themselves.

In a number of cases, we have been asked to provide assistance in the repatriation of psychiatric patients, who, in the short-term, had to be hospitalised for follow-up treatment in their country of origin. Often, these patients are already known to the psychiatric world, but were unable to give the necessary data. On the basis of limited information, we usually succeed quite quickly in tracking down the name of a hospital, the doctor in attendance or the family. If it concerns a German client, we subsequently make contact with a German ''Amtsarzt'' in the border region, who takes over the patient and arranges the transport to the desired hospital. We often arrange such cases by telephone - which sometimes takes a great deal of time - without our having come directly into contact with the client.