Replicable integrated interventions for inclusive housing and tackling marginalization in the Cluj Metropolitan Area

Description

The project aims at reducing the residential, social and economic disparities between the Pata Rât community, consisting of disadvantaged families (mostly Roma) and the majority population of Cluj-Napoca and combating the risk of social exclusion in the case of other poor families in the Cluj metropolitan area.

The main target group consists of 780 persons at risk of poverty and social exclusion (of which 680 from the marginalised urban area Pata Rat and 30 people from less precarious and uncertain housing areas), as well as 840 children and young people at risk of dropping out of school (aged 0 to 15 years, respectively between 16 and 24 years old). Total: 1,620 beneficiaries.

Project activities include providing integrated social services (i.e., facilitating access to decent housing, facilitating access to social benefits and /or employment on the labour market, obtaining ID papers, non-formal activities at the Community Social Centre for +16 year old people, aiming to develop independent living skills), medical services (a minimal package of health services for the beneficiaries not registered in the health insurance system, enroll children from Pata Rât on a family doctor registry, support groups for women/young women/ teenage mothers with regard to the pre and post-natal period, as well as to new-born child care, prevention campaigns); educational services (socio-emotional development sessions for children, sessions for teachers aiming at raising awareness to children''s needs and support, providing mentoring activities and private lessons for children within the community resource hub).

Within the project, 63 social housing will be purchased for 61 families from Pata Rât and two apartments for emergency situations and a replicable resettlement methodology and continuous support to resettled families will be developed.

Summary of project results

Social housing in Cluj-Napoca is inaccessible to the most disadvantaged people due to restrictive eligibility criteria. As a result, many families who could not afford to secure a decent home from their own income moved to Pata Rât, an informal urban settlement near Cluj-Napoca''s waste dump, which is home for approximately 1,200 people living in severe social and economic deprivation. The community’s marginalization traces back to the 1960 and culminated in 2010 with the relocation of 350 people to the landfill area, resulting in collective trauma.

The challenges faced by people living in Pata include:

• extreme housing insecurity and residential segregation (i.e. 67% of the houses are makeshift barracks, most lacking bathrooms and kitchens and basic utilities; 96% of houses are overcrowded; the settlement is located near a waste dump in an industrial area, unsuitable for long-term residence).
• educational segregation and high dropout rates (13.5% of children 6-14 years old and 63% of teenagers 15-17 years old did not attend school; most children from Pata were concentrated in just two schools, reinforcing social exclusion).
• poor access to social and medical services (38% of adults lacked medical insurance, and 31% were not registered with a family doctor; chronic illness and disability rates were significantly higher than in the general Cluj population; only 11.7% of eligible families received child support, despite high poverty rates).
• social exclusion and discrimination (residents of Pata faces severe discrimination and stigmatization, which limited their opportunities for employment, education, and housing; the settlement’s spatial segregation reinforced exclusion and prevented integration into mainstream society).

The previous project (Pata 1), funded by Norwegian Grants 2014–2017 and implemented by PP, successfully relocated 35 families (143 individuals) from Pata to social housing, providing, in the same time, psycho-social assistance to support long-term integration. Building on this foundation, Pata 2 pursued two main goals: reducing social and economic disparities between Pata-Rât and Cluj-Napoca''s majority population and preventing social exclusion among other vulnerable families in the metropolitan area, especially Roma, who risked relocating to marginalized areas without intervention. More specifically, the project aimed to continue the process of segregation of the marginalized urban area of ​​Pata Rât by providing decent social housing, maintaining desegregated housing and increasing the quality of life for the people relocated within the Pata 1, project and increasing institutional capacity to adequately respond to the needs of marginalized groups, including in the field of social housing.

To achieve the objectives, a range of activities were conducted and the following main outputs were attained:

• 75 apartments were purchased, of which 73 for social housing and two for emergency housing, located both in Cluj-Napoca and in the neighbouring towns - Apahida, Baciu, Florești and Gilău;
• 342 people have moved into these apartments;
• 1,726 children and young people at risk of school dropout or out of school benefited from support services (counselling, mentoring, guidance and tutoring) and non-formal education activities;
• 873 pupils and 63 teachers from ten schools benefited from socio-emotional development sessions (combating bullying, social cohesion and combating discrimination);
• medical tests and consultations were provided for 414 people; 82 children were registered with the family doctor;
• material support was provided such as 70 "baby boxes" (kits for taking care of the newborns), shoes and clothing for almost 100 students, firewood, food and hygiene products for 350 families;
• 91 parents benefited from the parents'' school activity;
• 2,798 people received personalized social services;
• 4 intervention models were developed and applied in working with vulnerable groups:
  1. Replicable Methodology for Relocation and Integration of Low-Income Families in Segregated Urban Areas;
  2. Methodological Guide for Preventing Eviction of Low-Income or Socially Marginalized Families;
  3. Replicable Methodology for Collaborative Housing;
  4. Replicable Methodology for Integrated System Response to Housing Crisis Situations.
• two specialized articles accepted for publication: one for the "Journal of education for students placed at risk" (JESPAR), published with the title "The relationship between parental abilities (discipline, nurturing, structuring and satisfying physical needs), the involvement of parents in education and school participation of children in a segregated and marginalized Roma community in Romania", and one for the "Journal of Community Psychology", published with the title "Experiencing eviction and its implications for social interventions".

 A total number of 2,798 beneficiaries (children and youth, parents, of which 2,177 Roma ethnics) considerably improved their living conditions and access to services, including access to education, medical services, jobs etc. Relocating 342 vulnerable individuals to new homes acquired via the project was one of its remarkable achievements; it was able to transform the lives of the most marginalized community members and provide them with an opportunity for a better and more dignified life. The replicable intervention methodology for the relocation and inclusion of low-income families created within the project was presented as an example of good practice at the World Family Summit 2022, held in Geneva.

An important outcome of the project is that the municipality and local political actors are now more conscious of the necessity of continuing the Pata Rat community''s desegregation process. Thus, the local council allocated funds to further support the initiatives started within the project and supports the PP activity.

Through the activities and results obtained, the project responded to the provisions of European, national and local programmatic documents, regarding the inclusion of disadvantaged Roma communities and combating social marginalization, specifically targeting the field of housing and increasing access to social, medical and educational services, by reducing housing, social, and economic disparities between Pata-Rât and Cluj-Napoca''s majority population and preventing social exclusion among other vulnerable families in the metropolitan area, especially Roma, who risked relocating to marginalized areas without intervention.

Summary of bilateral results

Bilateral relations were a key aspect of the Pata 2 project, with Bergen, Norway, as an international partner collaborating with PP to improve practices in both countries. Various training sessions and events were organized in Romania and Norway to exchange ideas, experiences, and working methods.In 2020, an online training session was held on June 17 due to the pandemic, focusing on best practices in housing and policy recommendations for social housing.In 2021, two training sessions took place: in September, Norwegian partners conducted an in-person event in Cluj-Napoca on crisis intervention. In November, Romanian specialists traveled to Bergen for Build and Administrate, a training on social housing led by experts from the Municipality of Bergen.In 2022, five bilateral events were held. Between May 3-7, representatives from Cluj visited Bergen to learn about inclusive social housing. From May 31 to June 2, Bergen specialists visited Cluj for a training on human trafficking intervention. In October, the teams met again in Bergen to discuss managing social challenges. On December 6-7, two more events took place: a workshop on inclusive housing involving Babeș-Bolyai University and a session on post-relocation services titled Services and Maintenance.The project concluded in 2023 with a closing conference on June 19-20, where Bergen partners led workshops on housing.Between April 20-22, 2024, a PP team, including social workers, psychologists, and the project manager, traveled to Bergen to present project results to key stakeholders.At the conclusion of four years of collaboration, it can certainly be stated that it was a fruitful exchange, characterized by mutual respect and support, as well as a better understanding of the challenges faced by both countries and the approaches used to overcome obstacles.