Proactive social action a strategy to empower people and build communities ESN-conference, Lisbon 2015

Transcription

1 Proactive social action a strategy to empower people and build communities ESN-conference, Lisbon 2015

2 Introduction Problem statement: Too many people don t get the rights and benefits they are entitled to. Social under-protection from 3 perspectives 1. Financial benefits 2. All public benefits and services 3. Social rights included in the constitution Belgium: A complex country: different governments with overlapping responsabilities; cross-silo thinking and overarching are often missing

3 Introduction Answer: Proactive social action 1. Strategy to tackle non-take-up of benefits and services 2. Affecting the whole system of service delivery 3. Initiate responsibility shifts from the beneficiary/recipient to the service provider

4 Introduction 4 creative examples of local social services Antwerpen inh. Brugge inh.

5 Building up a local social network using ipads

6 Testimonial: (watch the trailer)

7 Diagnose Many citizens are lonely Local services lack the tools to fight loneliness

8 Goal and target group Build up a (local) social network Among socially isolated elderly people, By strengthening the personal network and creating a new network among participants

9 Intervention 10 weekly encounters Learn how to use an ipad In small groups 10 monthly (ICT) support meetings ipad on loan (one year)

10 Tools Cubigo: communication and service platform ( Diary: assignment, as starting-point for a collective discussion about personal networks Tutorial: support for using basic internet tools and the central communication platform ICT test: after 10 encounters, participants ICT-skills are measured

11 Practical ipad: Each participant gets an ipad on loan (paid for by the local social service) for one year Participants: 200 (socially isolated) seniors citizens can participate, spread across three neighbourhoods in two cities (Ostend and Bruges) Staff: 3.5 FTE (the training sessions are part of an activation trajectory for 2.5 FTE) Project duration: august 2014 May 2017

12 Results 43 seniors participated since the start 3 educated ICT-coaches

13 Key-success factors Network of intermediary organisations supporting the detection of socially isolated senior citizens Staff involved in pro-active recruitment Focus on group dynamics Transport to the meetings Nearly no costs for participants Local infrastructure availability (e.g. sitting room)

14 Risks Will all end-users be able to afford an internetenabled device, outside concrete projectparticipation? The encounters and meetings are labour intensive ( sessions of 3 hours + transport to the meetings). How does the organisation incorporate this and make it viable?

15 Partners

16 Social Guides

17 Diagnosis Getting what you are entitled to? Housing Medical welfare Dental welfare Financial benefits.

18 Diagnosis It s up to you: to know your rights to know which service has the task to help you to go to the correct services/administration to collect the papers they need to help you to get the correct references.

19 Diagnosis But Some people don t know their rights don t have any knowledge about the different services need help to overcome some of these obstacles Personel of the social service can t always help (not enough time) You have to do it personally: identity card and signature are necessary

20 Social Guides Clients that receive intense training in order to: Help another person to overcome practical obstacles in obtaining his rights Support the social workers Reintegrate into the labour market

21 Social Guides A guide is a companion for other clients = you re not alone! Helps to: Remind your appointment Take public transport Find the way to the correct service Overcome some anxiety Introduces clients. Is not: An interpreter A trained welfare worker A helping hand in financial transactions

22 Training In group / in class In association with centre for adult education 6 months: 2 days a week Based on own experiences experiences of colleagues growth of several competences

23 Results From the start in 2013 till now 16 social guides An average of 10 guides succeed in the training Over 100 assignments in 2013 Over 455 assignments in 2014 Some of the guides started another career (e.g. in administration)

24 Benefits For the client: Help from someone who understands his situation Overcome obstacles in joining welfare Successful experience.

25 Benefits For social welfare: Becoming a guide is a stepping stone to employement Support is given Guides support the welfare workers Some necessary steps in welfare are being taken Better follow-up, more structure

26 Benefits For the social guide: A stepping stone to employment Feeling of appreciation Feeling of usefulness Strengthening of competences Part of an activation process

27 Active detection of child poverty through unpaid schoolbills

28 Diagnosis Children in Antwerp children attend school 1 out of 4 children is born into poverty + 45% of students has a mother who is poorly educated

29 What we know A child that grows up in poverty has an increased risk of ending up in poverty as an adult. Supporting young children during their first years of life is crucial to breaking the cycle of being underprivileged.

30 Schools as radars Unpaid schoolbills Indication of poverty?

31 Project Trigger Increase in the number of unpaid schoolbills. Lack of expertise within the educational field on how to handle this problem. Partnership: local social welfare services - (primary) schools Social workers investigate and advise schools in relation to the unpaid schoolbills. Schools choose a social approach of the problem.

32 Method Schools: select families based on various indicators (unpaid schoolbills, low involvement of parents, poor clothing, ). ask the parents permission to involve social workers. provide social workers with a list of selected families to visit.

33 Method Social workers make visits at home or in school Social investigation and detection of social needs. Start up of assistance, guidance or coaching. Holistic approach to all domains and functions. Empowerment of parents. Connecting families to a network, both personal and professional.

34 Method Recommendations Case discussions and follow-up through the school s care-team. Advice on unpaid schoolbills: payment plans, maximal discounts, direct payments, (partial) acquittal of debts,

35 Results (first 3 years) Input: 4 full time social workers Reach: 332 families with a total of children Output: interventions in the areas of recreation and network, finances, housing, education and parenting, e.g. looking for daycare during the school holidays applying for scholarships working on reducing debts promoting reading and library visits signing up for social housing referring to family counseling

36 Testimonial

37 Benefits Family based Obtaining all rights. Structural approach to social problems with a lasting effect. Prevention of new social problems. Improved relationship with the school. Empowerment of children and their parents. Better chances at graduating, finding a job and improving financial capacity.

38 Benefits School based Insight in the social situation of families and improved collaboration with parents. Increased expertise in relation to poverty and diversity. Strengthening the social network of the school with social welfare organisations. Partial recuperation of unpaid schoolbills. Educationally based Bridge between social welfare field and educational field. Advice for policy makers.

39 Go Team

40 Diagnosis Example 1 Single mom (23 yo) with daughter (6 yo) Father nowhere to be found, no family to rely on No regular income, instead prostitution House is a mess, garbage everywhere No personal hygiëne, dirty clothes, Mother can barely read Daughter misses out on school Administration is a disaster Lots of debts In 1 month, they will lose their house

41 Result 3 months later: No more prostitution, on welfare instead Found a new appartment New appartment is still clean New school & schoolattendance is ok Daughter goes to school with food Debts are almost under control Personal hygiëne has strongly improved New shoes for the child 5 months after startup: found a job

42 Diagnose Example 2 Single mom (53 yo) with son (16 yo) Father nowhere to be found Mother on welfare Mother has an alcohol addiction 18 cats, 8 birds,2 dogs House is filled with garbage and animal faeces No floor in the house: only raw concrete Administration is a disaster Lots of debt

43 Result 3 months later Mom is in treatment for her addiction Debts are almost under control House is totally cleaned out Almost all animals impounded 2 remaining cats sterilized Laid a new floor Got them some new furniture Son is enrolled in football team

44 Context Every city has families like these Cycle of poverty: it never ends Regular social work does not stick: Specialisation versus hands on approach Case load versus intense counseling Voluntariness can be an obstacle

45 What did we do? Creation of our GO-team In partnerschip with the police GO = Family Support 3 social assistants (with lots of experience) Caseload: 5 6 families for each social worker Very intensive and hands on counseling

46 What does INTENSIVE mean? We never say We don t do that! We don t just tell them what to do We do things together (ex. cleaning) We don t let go We re in for the long run We don t bother with bureaucracy

47 Findings so far? Progress where none was made before Collaboration with the police is an asset Not very difficult to get admission Sometimes very rewarding Sometimes very frustrating Emotionally very heavy

48 General conclusion Risks: - started as a project, challenge to implement in a structural way and sustain the activities Key-success factors: - Chance to experiment - Pro-active - 100% commitment and integral approach - Genuine partnerschips - Breakthrough silos

49 Bert Desmet ONLINE buurten OCMW Brugge +32 (0) (0) Edwin Beaumon Emancipatorische Werking OCMW Gent +32 (0) (0) Greet Beeckmans Teamcoach OCMW Antwerpen +32 (0) Mathias Vaes Go-project OCMW Mechelen +32 (0) Nathalie Debast VVSG (Union of Flemish Municipalities) +32 (0) (0)