Description
LVC will deal with social exclusion of citizens aged 60+. As seniors help one another (self-help groups) and other excluded people (volunteering in social welfare), they will get involved in local community life. We will undertake spectacular actions to demonstrate it to all Legionowo residents that - contrary to stereotypes - 60+ citizens are willing and able to share and contribute to the common good. Establishment of the LVC will not only boost the activity of 60 + citizens exposed to social exclusion, but it will also let them decide about the forms of support (through self-help groups and LVC Board - 50 people min.) Indirectly, 400 socially excluded people - recipients of support offered by seniors-volunteers - will benefit from the project. Social Welfare Center (Project Partner) is familiar with the problems of SC and it will help identify beneficiaries. Workshop Competence Foundation (Project Partner) brings in experience with activation and competence-building training for SC.
Summary of project results
"In Legionowo, 23% of the population are sixty years of age or older (Central Statistics office, 2014) - the share is higher than the national average of 16.9% - hence, issues of the elderly remain Legionowo's major social problem. Persons over sixty are particularly vulnerable to economic, social, and system exclusion (“Diagnosing Legionowo's Population of the Elderly"", Hope Association). Expert recommendations point to the need to activate the seniors, as passivity is conducive to isolation. The project purpose was to prevent the exclusion of persons aged 60+ resident in Legionowo and the neighbourhood by making them part of social activities. A Senior Volunteer Centre was set up, 52 persons participating in its activities. Volunteers formed 5 self-help groups. Workshops were organised on the activation and legal aspects of volunteer work (76 attendants); 52 persons who declared their will to become volunteers attended workshops on computer literacy, communication, stress management, assertiveness, time management, reading fairy tales to children, and elements of law. Selected 11 leaders attended a 4-day workshop on leader skills and a study tour to the Regional Senior Volunteer Centre in Gdańsk. Individual coaching sessions were offered to 11 leaders (140 hours) and 50 volunteers (250 hours); 36 persons were provided with civic advisory services. A Senior Volunteer Centre was set up with a base of 52 volunteers and 276 potential service recipients - aid was provided to 136 persons. Furthermore, volunteers helped to organise charity events, public campaigns, and food collections. Senior Citizen Days and Volunteer Work Days were organised; a project- and Centre-promoting calendar with event photographs was printed (120 copies). Training sessions were attended by 75 persons sixty and over; 52 engaged in volunteer work directly aiding 136 persons in need of help, and 1,680 recipients of social campaign support. The Competence Workshop Foundation organised workshops to activate seniors and improve their competencies. The Social Welfare Centre facilitated the process of reaching persons in need, supported the Volunteer Centre's work, and moderated self-help groups."
Summary of bilateral results