According to the research conducted in Bielsko Biała (available through an Interactive Map of Social Problems), the most important problems of young inhabitants of Bielso Biała are juvenile delinquency, offences and alcoholism. The local welfare institutions have confirmed the results of the research. That is why an Interdisciplinary Team for Counteracting Domestic Violence was set up to work on, among other things, effective combating violence and on rehabilitation of children and youth. The task of the Team is to support the youth at risk and for some years now, the member organizations and institutions use an individualized approach to implementing care and social rehabilitation processes.
The aim of the project was to increase the social involvement of young people at risk of social exclusion through getting them involved in volunteer activities for their own community.
Thanks to the project implementation, 40 young people participating in the activities of the Youth Sociotherapy Centre, cooperating with their peers can also participate in social initiatives initiated by the Grodzki Theatre and social welfare institutions.
The project enabled conducting a cycle of training sessions for participating volunteers and young people from the Youth Sociotherapy Centre. Each participant followed an Individual Volunteer Programme. 6 study visits were organized. Almost 250 people participated in 2 Voluntary Work Galas. A brochure on combating hate speech was published.
The beneficiaries of the project implementation were young people exposed to the risk of social exclusion, aged 13-35, from Bielsko-Biała.
Barnaheill Save the Children Iceland, the project partner, conducted the training for volunteers and prepared the publication on combating hate speech. The other partner was the Youth Sociotherapy Centre in Bielsko-Biała. The Centre was responsible for recruiting the participants and for their taking part in the social activities organized together with the volunteers from the Association.