More information
Description
The project is addressed to young people aged 10-29 years in the Lublin Province who are at risk of or affected by social exclusion as well as their parents and guardians. In particular, we will support youth with experience of domestic or peer violence, or with a history of crime. The Lublin Province is the poorest region in Poland, with the highest percentage of poor people and the lowest average income. Poverty encourages, among other things, the appearance of dangerous behaviours and violent attitudes, and the difficult economic situation limits the access of young people and their families to professional support. The project will allow young people and their families to benefit from free professional support. It will also provide professionals with a tool to work effectively with young people. We will implement a comprehensive programme for therapeutic and development groups and provide individual psychological consultations for young people, their parents and guardians. We will conduct so-called club activities, during which young people will learn about alternative ways of spending their free time. The programme will be described in a publication entitled ‘Development Groups. Youth support programme’, which will be developed as a result of expert consultations with psychologists, therapists and representatives of organisations and institutions working with young people at risk of social exclusion. It will also contain a summary of 30 information-educational meetings conducted in schools in the Lubelskie Province. 850 young people at risk of social exclusion and their families will benefit from direct support under the project. In the future, project activities will be carried out by the Children''s Aid Centre in Lublin, which will ensure the sustainability of project results. The project is implemented in partnership with the Lublin Municipality, which will support cooperation with educational institutions and social assistance entities in the city.
Summary of project results
The project activities were a response to the threat of social exclusion and difficult access to broadly understood support, including psychological support, for adolescents and young adults (10-29 years old) at risk or affected by social exclusion from the province. Lublin Province, with particular emphasis on domestic and peer violence and crimes.
The activities were based on the implementation of a comprehensive development group program consisting of therapeutic and developmental group activities, individual psychological consultations for young people and their parents and guardians, and the so-called club activities. A Children''s Help Center was launched in Lublin, which helps young people with experience of abuse and their non-abusive guardians in an interdisciplinary, comprehensive way, under one roof. The program of group classes was published in the handbook "Development Groups. Youth Support Program"
Products:
36 information and educational meetings in schools
4 consultation meetings with psychologists/educators, attended by 29 people
1 manual "Development Groups. Youth Support Program"
200 printed copies of the manual "Development Groups. Youth Support Program"
900 information leaflets
Results:
1,976 hours of therapeutic and developmental groups (including 456 hours of direct work with 3 groups)
60 people supported within therapeutic and development groups
918 hours of individual psychological support for young people
68 people provided with individual psychological support
285 hours of individual psychological support for parents/guardians
83 parents/guardians provided with individual psychological support
156 hours of club activities
51 hours of supervision
20 psychologists/therapists/educators, volunteers (psychology students) supported
12 people who completed training for staff working with children and youth.
622 participants of meetings in schools
16 social organizations participating in consultations
Positive changes in behavior can be observed in young people participating in T-R group activities, strengthening social skills, improving relationships with peers, which we conclude based on observations, and the relationships of parents/guardians. Adolescents and parents/guardians participating in individual consultations declare improvement in functioning and overall quality of life, which we conclude based on oral evaluation in the form of feedback sessions. Participants of meetings at schools increased their level of information on places and ways of obtaining possible support in the area of mental health (900 information leaflets were distributed).