Field Programs Smržovka

Service Type: Field Programs - Liberec Region Identifier: 1161877

The aim of the provided social service was to eliminate or alleviate the impacts of social exclusion on the lives of service users (people socially excluded or at risk of social exclusion). The social service provided necessary assistance and support to these individuals in addressing their problems in a field-based manner.

Locations of Service Provision: - Excluded areas of the city of Liberec (streets Vojanova, Sportovní, Rybářská, Kolora, Nádraží, Podještědská, city center) - Excluded areas of the city of Jablonec - Excluded areas of the city of Tanvald and its surroundings (Smržovka, Velké Hamry, Desná, Harrachov, Plavy, Kořenov)

Intended Recipients of the Service: - Individuals over 15 years old - Individuals living in socially excluded communities - Individuals leading a risky lifestyle or at risk of such a lifestyle - Ethnic minorities

What the service offered:

It was a registered social service according to § 69 of Act No. 108/2006 Coll., on social services, provided in the aforementioned excluded areas. Workers in the natural environment of service users offered basic support and active assistance through field social work in the following areas:

• Basic counseling: providing necessary information to address the user's unfavorable social situation - serving both to navigate the problem affecting the user's quality of life and to explore available assistance options for resolving their issue,
• Mediation of contact with the social environment: activities enabling better understanding of relationships within the social environment (e.g., providing information on legislative changes, explaining rights and obligations, etc.),
• Accompaniment to institutions: based on the user's request, a worker accompanied the service user to appointments at institutions and supported them in independent dealings (employment office, legal representative, social benefits department),
• Assistance with handling routine matters: help with drafting various types of applications (processing social benefits, state social support, social housing, etc.), assistance with document processing, understanding official correspondence, filling out forms, assistance with drafting appeals against decisions, etc.,
• Assistance with restoring or strengthening family contact: support in additional activities promoting social inclusion (e.g., planning and creating a family budget; communication with housing owners, hostel owners, authorities, etc.),

- Transfer of contacts to institutions of follow-up care: the service user was informed about institutions of follow-up care, i.e., self-government bodies and organizations providing specialized social assistance, with the aim of successfully solving the service user's problem - staff could help the service user arrange a meeting with the relevant institution based on their request, or accompany the service user to this institution (accompaniment to subsequent care services, mediation of contact with specialized organizations - psychologist, doctor, etc.), - Working with the service user in their natural environment: working with the service user in an environment, - in which they normally move around, - Social work: individual work with the service user focused on the user's education - on the topic being addressed, strengthening competencies, independence, and overall independence from social services, - Social therapeutic activities: providing leads to the development or maintenance of personal social skills and abilities, supporting the social inclusion of individuals, (e.g. assistance in job search, assistance in securing retraining courses, assistance in creating a family budget, etc.).

Principles of provision:

• the service was provided to users free of charge,
• respecting the applicant or user as a unique individual with unique abilities and skills,
• respecting the user's right to privacy,
• discretion - maintaining the confidentiality of information,
• adherence to the principles of personal data protection for users who use the service with disclosed identity,
• the user's right to decide whether to use the service anonymously or with disclosed identity,
• a partnership approach to the user on one side, strengthening their independence on the other,
• encouraging the user to face discomfort and solve problems that reduce the quality of their life - mainly by providing expert services in a way that increases the user's chances of solving their problem, rather than solving problems for the user,
• staff remain impartial when dealing with users, applying equal treatment to all users,
• all staff meet the professional qualifications according to Act No. 108/2006 Coll., on social services
• and continuously educate themselves.

The Field Programs Project in Smržovka was implemented from April 1, 2019, to March 31, 2022.