An estimated 18.9 million young adults used drugs in 2018 (European Drug Report. Trends and Developments, 2018). It follows from the statistics above that, nowadays, many youngsters experiment with drugs. Some intend to explore their curiosity, relieve stress, have fun or follow the pressure of friends. Meanwhile, others are encouraged to choose this path after having grown up in a dysfunctional family or in a poor community or to self-medicate their deep (emotional and other) problems. That is why organisations from Lithuania, Sweden, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Turkey gathered with the idea of youth work as a tool for better reintegration of former drug users into society and space for their personal development. Accordingly, the main aim of the “Give Hugs, not Drugs” project was to strengthen the competencies of youth workers in finding adequate approaches to fostering the inclusion and empowerment of young drug addicts. To reach this aim, the following objectives were set: 1) Increase awareness (and reduce stigma) about youth drug abuse and its related problems; 2) Identify challenges young drug users face and ways to address them; 3) Explore the role of youth work in helping young (former) drug addicts; 4) Improve the capacities (knowledge and skills) of youth workers to address the needs of young drug addicts and to support their empowerment; 5) Share tools and good practices of engaging with vulnerable groups in an international context; 6) Create transnational partnerships on inclusion and empowerment of young (ex-) drug addicts among youth organisations.