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Description
Our project is targeted at young people leaving alternative care (foster care, family-type residential care, etc). The project aims at empowering 210 young people to start successfully their independent life through a new provided service, i.e. Support for an Independent Life. Ove the last years the child protection system in Bulgaria achieved progress with alternative care for children separated from their parents, however, young people leaving care and what happens to them in the first years of their independent life have been left beyond the scope of public policies. These young people, the majority of whom tend to be Roma (more than 60%), are some of the most vulnerable groups of public, disadvantaged compared to their peers who grew up with their biological families. The group of young people who left care is characterized by high unemployment, poverty, social isolation and deviant behaviour. Our project aims at empowering 210 young people for a successful start in life after leaving care. A new innovative service, i.e. Support for an Independent Life, will be introduced. The service will help empower young people leaving care through a tailored package of supportive activities to ensure continuous education, stable employment, regular income, secure housing, good health, responsibility for personal well-being and emotional stability during this period of transition in life. The service will be structured in line with the specific individual needs and preferences, assessed by a team of experts, and it will include counselling with specialists, scholarships for qualification courses and other measures. The direct beneficiaries will be young people aged 16-29, including at least 60% Roma, who leave the care system. .
Summary of project results
The main objective of the "Paths to Freedom" project was to empower 210 young people who leave care to successfully start an independent life by providing a new social service – "Support for independent living". The new social service supported young people with an individual package of activities in six areas - continuing education, sustainable employment, regular income, provided housing, good health, responsibility for their own well-being and emotional stability.
The service was implemented in 7 municipal centers in the cities of Sofia, Pernik, Veliko Tarnovo, Gabrovo, Stara Zagora, Plovdiv and Ruse on a competitive basis by announcing in total 6 rounds of Guidelines for Youth Applications. The application process continues with reviewing applications, subsequent approval by 3-member committees based on the developed individual support plans and needs assessment for each young person, signing a contract and providing an individual support package. According to the individual needs identified, the package could include psychological support, vocational guidance, support for applying for and holding a job, assistance in accessing administrative services, consultations with a lawyer and various vocational/educational courses.
By the end of the project, 218 young people leaving care were supported, with the biggest percentage of applications seeking psychological and psychotherapeutic support, professional courses and health care.
Another main objective of the project was to achieve strong commitment by the government and civil society in supporting the independent life of young people leaving care. The project realized this goal through an advocacy campaign that included:
• Development and publication of a Standard for Social Service and its presentation at a conference with over 100 participants.
• A working meeting was held with representatives of municipalities, the Agency for the Quality of Social Services, the Agency for Social Assistance, representatives of the civil sector, and service providers.
• Webinars were conducted to discuss with other service providers the dynamics within problems and challenges of young people leaving care.
The social service "Support for independent living" will continue to be provided by SOS Children''s Villages Bulgaria according to the developed methodology and in the same geographical scope implemented under the project. The distribution of the developed service standard among the representatives of the municipalities of the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria will also enable us to expand the scope of the service in the country with the opportunity for all young people leaving care to take advantage of it. Providing free use of the methodology of the social service "Support for independent living" will enable municipalities and private social service providers to use and further develop it depending on local conditions and their own capacity.