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Description
Famílias com Afetos aims to involve 200 children/youths up to 18 years old and families identified by the Commission for the Protection of Children and Youth at Risk and by the School Grouping of Lousã. It is a multidisciplinary monitoring service based on a logic of empowering families and supporting and strengthening children/youth and their respective families in all pillars of their lives through close intervention in articulation with social support networks in the social, emotional, educational, family and community spheres. It offers support such as mediation and family therapy.
Summary of project results
According to the Social Diagnosis of Lousã Municipality 2019-2021, in the 2018/2019 school year, there were 2,347 students, including 276 in public preschool and 89 in the solidarity network, 645 in the 1st cycle, 338 in the 2nd cycle, 519 in the 3rd cycle, 272 in regular secondary education, 72 in professional education, and 136 in professional school. The Commission for the Protection of Children and Young People at Risk (CPCJL) activity report (2019) indicated 111 Promotion and Protection Processes, with Domestic Violence and Negligence being the most reported issues. A higher incidence of children aged 11 to 17 (51.35%) was noted, with dominant problems including domestic violence, lack of supervision, alcohol consumption, severe antisocial behaviors, and indiscipline. The “Social Network” highlighted risk behaviors among children and youth, poor personal and social skills, an increase in children with depressive issues and school integration difficulties, child poverty, and a rise in students with behavioral disorders related to aggression and antisocial behaviors. Indiscipline, linked to low self-esteem and affective deficits, also emerged as a problem, affecting interpersonal relationships and school adaptation. In 2016/2017, Lousã Schools recorded 315 disciplinary actions, with the 3rd cycle having the highest number (65%), followed by the 2nd cycle (18%), the 1st cycle (16%), and secondary education (2%). Regarding parenting, the DSCL (2019) highlighted issues of Negligence, often associated with unemployment, socioeconomic insufficiency, addictive behaviors, marital problems, psychopathological conditions within the family, and educational methods based on physical aggression. There was also a lack of responses for preventing risk behaviors and promoting positive parenting and family cohesion. The Famílias com Afetos project aimed to address these needs by providing a holistic and multidisciplinary service, promoting personal and social skills, and preventing social and school risk situations, maintaining close relationships with the support networks of children, youth, and families.
The project focused on empowerment measures and provided various services. In Activity TU CHEGAS! (You are enough) a complete 8-session program was conducted for 14 classes from the AEL School Group, involving 145 beneficiaries and 167 participants, totaling 312 children and young people, and 186 hours of the program applied. In Activity Families with Affection Program, it was conducted with 12 beneficiaries, with 2 complete programs for 12 beneficiaries and 2 beneficiaries attending 3 sessions, totaling 30 hours.
Regarding the capacity-building measure for teaching professionals, the Ensinar+ Resiliente program was fully applied to 39 teaching professionals (28 assistants and 11 teachers) and partially to 201 teaching professionals through activities promoted by AEL.
Other services provided were Psychosocial Support Office (assisted 76 beneficiaries in 607 sessions); Happy Families Office (supported 21 beneficiaries in 184 sessions), with 7 of these 21 not benefiting from any other measure, totaling 80 beneficiaries of services provided.
In summary, the project exceeded its targets for outcome indicators. The empowerment measures aimed to reach 130 vulnerable individuals, benefiting 157. For services provided, the target was 70 vulnerable individuals, with 80 benefiting from this action.
In terms of results the project achieved, there was a clear improvement in the development of self-acceptance strategies, commitment, and mindfulness among the children and young people who participated in the project. The enhancement in their ability to accept themselves without fear of judgment and to recognize and manage their own and others'' emotions and affections were the most noted skills by the students at the end of the program. Regarding indiscipline and bullying behaviors, there was also an improvement in their ability to relate to peers and manage conflicts, as well as greater class unity, which was also noted by several teachers as an additional outcome. Additionally, 56% of the children and young people involved in activities showed improvement in psychopathological symptoms and well-being.
In terms of project outputs, the initial video, the Families with Affection blog, the Families with Affection are Happy Families Guide, the final video with various project testimonials, and the Ensinar+ Resiliente Guide resulting from Activity 6 applied to teaching professionals were produced, with the latter being an extra product beyond the initial proposal.
It is important to highlight that the project was designed to holistically empower children/youth, their families, and the educational community as a whole. Beneficiaries of empowerment measures also received individualized intervention to reinforce group empowerment.