Description
The project addresses the difficulties faced by family members providing informal long-term care for their incapacitated/disabled relatives (impossibility to have professional and personal life, impaired health and social isolation). The project aims at boosting the capacity of NGOs helping family caregivers in the cities of Sofia, Veliko Tarnovo and Karlovo to make this vulnerable group visible to the public and alleviate their burden. First, local coordinators and facilitators will be selected and trained to organize self-help groups of family caregivers. Second, 3 meetings of experts with family caregivers will be held in the 3 cities to help them make self-assessment of their needs. Third, 9 self-help sessions will be held. The project will benefit family caregivers in the 3 cities, their families, relevant NGOs and the local community in general.
Summary of project results
The implemented project reached its main goal to improve the NGO resources for work and advocacy through empowerment, activation of civil participation and provision of helpful tools to the people who provide informal long-term care in the family. The problems were voiced and 248 caregivers and 13 NGOs in the three municipalities of Sofia, Veliko Tarnovo and Karlovo increased their civic engagement. The needs of the caregivers were identified and the practice of organizing them in self-help groups was established. Proposals to the local authorities and local community were formulated to have them involved in problem solving. The following events took place: 3 sessions for self-assessment of the needs of caregivers and 50 forms for self-evaluation of their needs were filled in; 97 caregivers, NGO representatives and social workers from the three cities took part in 9 sessions of 3 self-help groups ; 3 information events were held with 95 participants 28 of whom representatives of local and national authorities from the three cities of Sofia, Veliko Tarnovo and Karlovo; the goal of the events was to disseminate the information learnt during the project about the needs, problems and solutions of caregivers in the family and to discuss with the local authorities the most urgent needs to change the services and legislation on local and national level. The partnering NGOs developed the capacity for creating a supportive environment and advocacy for the rights of caregivers in the family. The 7 trained facilitators of the self-help groups are the means of the NGO to continue drawing supporters for its activity. The pilot model can be multiplied by NGOs, civic groups and stakeholders in other regions of the country as this is a widespread problem. The following outputs were developed: an adapted questionnaire for self-assessment of the needs of caregivers, presentations of the project and good practices to improve the quality of life of people providing informal long-term care in the family, reports summing up the findings from the self-assessment of the needs of caregivers, a general report about the self-assessment of the problems and the needs of the target group, a final report about the needs, challenges and needed support and proposals to the local authorities and institutions.
Summary of bilateral results