Fundacja FUNDUSZ WSPÓŁPRACY

The objective of the Partnership is to work out an innovative system of therapy combined with education to enable the homeless or those threatened with homelessness to enter or re-enter the labour market. Welfare and mutual aid institutions/organisations, as well as local authorities and educational institutions that are involved in combating homelessness by enabling labour market access to those threatened by homelessness will participate in the Project.

The name of the Partnership is evoking the socio-economic pattern, which is the main cause of homelessness. According to statistics, the percentage of welfare recipients has been rising since the early 1990's. Considering demographic trends and a growing rate of unemployment, the extended aid is purely symbolic: there are too many people in need to satisfy their basic needs (over 50% of Polish households are subsisting below the social minimum).

Poverty contributes significantly to housing problems: a vast majority of the population is unable to purchase a home or pay the rent. It is really easy to become homeless. Identified causes of homelessness are: family violence, marriage breakdown, joblessness, eviction, release from a care centre or penitentiary and addictions. Obviously, the homeless are victims of social exclusion. The aid they are provided with is unlikely to change their status, as it is related solely to the social aspects, while knowledge and skills of those in need are neglected.

Direct beneficiaries of the Project are 250 people: 125 homeless residents of rehabilitation/ integration centres and 125 people in danger of homelessness (young addicts or youth from disfunctional households). The beneficiaries share a low level of education, lack of skills/qualifications that are in demand on a modern labour market and personality deficiencies. So far, they have been offered cursory assistance, involving addiction treatment or vocational training in jobs that are not sought after on the employment market.

The Project will involve a combination of therapy, occupational integration and labour market entering, while ensuring that the beneficiaries are not left in a vacuum with their problems. Therefore, the Partnership will involve employers in its activities: their needs and employment policies will be considered, while expecting feedback on the efficiency of the proposed methods and providing training in subsidies to jobs offered to those exiting from homelessness.

A Social Support System is being established under the Project. This will involve a set of tools for the beneficiaries that will facilitate their re-entrance to the employment market. The assistance will be provided on a comprehensive basis: the participants will have a free-of-charge access to psychological support, information and education. Each participant will sign a contract on his/her willingness to join the Project. He/she will follow an individual work plan on resuming education and employment. Every two months he/she will receive feedback on the progress made in education, interpersonal relationships and behavioural characteristics (self-discipline, punctuality and organisation).

The beneficiaries and those interested will have access to on-line Social Support System with databases on welfare, education and labour market (including offers, standard documents, excerpt from the labour law and ABC of self-employment). In addition, the System will comprise an e-learning platform (available courses in IT, basic English, secondary school subjects; graduates will be awarded completion certificates). Access to computers will be provided by Support Points in Poznań, Piła and Rogoźno (belonging to the local level of the Support System) and the centres' teaching/internet rooms.

Therapeutic workshops ("family therapy", arts classes and social skills workshop) will complement work with beneficiaries. They are intended to address personality deficits, enhance self-esteem, self-presentation skills, promote assertive attitudes and teach how to cope with aggression (the latter modules are essential for ex-addicts), while instilling the habit of working. The progress of work on self-improvement, cooperation with other members of the group and learned skills will be documented in "Beneficiary Sheet".

The curriculum of vocational training was prepared considering suggestions by local employers. This will contribute significantly to the effectiveness of training activities. The key outcome of the Partnership will be a proven programme supporting self-dependence of the homeless that can be easily tailored to the needs of other regions. Designed as a public undertaking, the Project addresses the beneficiaries' needs, proposes structured solutions and encourages pro-active attitudes of the local community.

The new tools (educational programmes, on-line tools, training materials) will be disseminated among the homeless, local communities, local government institutions, employers and non-government organisations using all available communication channels. Social Support Points are likely to become a model suitable for application in other regions and communities affected by poverty-induced dysfunctions.

• Social Support Point – model of monitoring the beneficiaries’ progress in programmes/ projects focusing on helping persons with addictions and the homeless return to the labour market