Description
Dom na polceste (Halfway House) is a shelter for former residents of orphanages, mostly of Roma origin, who wish to move forward and thrive despite difficulties in life. The shelter offers professional integration via farming and construction activities and thus provides the young men with support on their way to independence. Moreover, the Halfway House project generates income for the facility through selling fresh farming products (milk, cheese, quark) and building work (complete structural design and realization of exterior and interior of buildings). These activities contribute to the sustainability of the facility and could be enhanced through establishing of a social enterprise (provide real job opportunities to young adults and help them acquire get work habits). So far, five Halfway House residents have been employed on the farm and in construction works. The project kicks off with an information workshop and an "Open door day" in the Halfway House, whose aim is to raise awareness among general public about the activities of this facility among general public. This event should be followed by meetings with the representatives of social businesses from both neighboring and remote districts (i.e. Spissky Hrhov and Liptovsky Mikuláš), aimed at the exchange of good practices in this field.
Summary of project results
Project was useful from the point of view of the strengthening of the capacity of the civic organization the Halfway House. The project was necessary because the capacity of the lack of visibility of our NGO, which primarily aims to help (financial and non-financial) young adults from orphanages. The project strengthened the adaptability of the organization towards its partners, as well as to its clients. The clients of the Halfway House were given the opportunity to be trained in communication skills and strengthen their self-esteem throughout the project and their attitude towards officials is much more assertive. The sustainability of the project results is primarily secured by the very existence of the Halfway House. The objective of the project was fulfilled as follows: the NGO was made visible in the media, the clients were trained and their adaptability to the labour market was strengthened, the NGO received an impetus for the further progress and help clients who after leaving the House become independent. The target group was involved into the project by means of the following activities: young adults from orphanages participated in the survey, were actively involved in workshops and trainings. The House will continue to provide work opportunities for its clients (construction work), as well as new job opportunities that will be addressed by the new project.
Summary of bilateral results