Description
Youth leaving juvenile education centres in Warsaw will take responsibility for managing their own finances, budgeting for their centre and energy efficiency measures (electricity, water and heating). They will gain if they do save. If they exceed their budget they will feel the impact in their wallets. The project will simulate real world home finance management where there are no government grants but people have to pay their bills, buy food and clothing and keep the home in good shape. This will help them prepare for doing this in real world in their own apartments which they will soon receive from the government. During the project, they will go through a series of workshops tailored to the identified education preferences, finance management, and energy efficiency habits of the young people at hand. They will then be given their own budget to “buy" food or accommodation services for the centre. They will also be responsible for their centre budget planning and performance.
Summary of project results
"Young people leaving juvenile education centres and other foster custody institutions, including children's homes, rarely succeed in managing their independent lives. According to experts, much less than 50 per cent of them begin living independent lives. According to the report prepared by the Regional Centre for Social Welfare (ROPS) in Białystok, most of such people return to the lifestyles of their communities which were responsible for their ending up in the mentioned institutions (alcoholism, immoral conduct, inefficient parental skills). The experiences of the Youth Care Centre run by the Orionist Fathers show that only 10-20 per cent of children can manage in everyday reality after they leave children's homes: finish school, find permanent employment and be capable of maintaining a flat. The project aim was to provide support to young people leaving Youth Care Centres who are at risk of social and economic exclusion. 67 young people leaving 6 Youth Care Centres are now prepared to manage the budget of their Centres, manage their own finances. They also acquired knowledge necessary for efficient usage of energy, water and heating at home. Workshop materials were prepared for managing personal budgets and taking care of utility bills, nutrition, loans and savings. While carrying out the tasks, the participants competed on different levels. Training for the Centres' staff and students was conducted. 3 publications were prepared and made available via the Internet: report on the conducted research, report on implementing the pilot project and summary of the project implementation. The project beneficiaries were young people aged 14-19 leaving six Youth Care Centres. 120 youth care centres from all over Poland had access to the study and to good practices of implementing such educational programme. One project partner - Habitat for Humanity Poland - shared the experiences resulting from managing utilities at home (electricity, water, heating). Another project partner - the Youth Care Centre run by the Orionist Fathers - provided the knowledge on the target group: educational approach, challenges and scheme of activities."
Summary of bilateral results