Caritas Diocesana di Trieste Networking on local area

Caritas Diocesana di Trieste Networking on local area knowledge of territory-continuous presence in community Kaunas, 12 th-15 th July 2011 1

National issues on networking in child poverty 1. Law 285/1997: Promotion of rights and opportunities for children - Provide for the creation of a projects’ database for childhood and adolescence - Encourage the dissemination of knowledge and quality of interventions 2. Law 328/2000: Integrated system of social welfare -Coordination and integration of social interventions with health and education system - Coordination and cooperation between different institutional levels - To facilitate the implementation of the principle of subsidiarity, local authorities and regions support actions promoting the work of associations 2

Regional laws framework #1 1. Law 20/2005: Integrated educational system of services for children - For the implementation of principle of subsidiarity, region and local authorities promote an integrated system of child care - Integrated system of services for children expand the existing training provision with a work of coordination 2. Law 6/2006: Integrated system of services for social citizenship promotion and protection - Promote reciprocity and self-help initiatives of families and associations - Centrality of local communities to encourage improvements in the quality of life and relations between people - Active participation of citizens, organizations and association through a coordination work Role of public Social Services: - Information and guidance in the provision of services - Integration of interventions 3

Regional laws framework #2 3. Law 11/2006: Services for families and parenthoood - Promotion of solidariety among families - Development of easily accessible services for families orientation in the system of services - Integration between municipalities social services and health system in the provision of services 4

Povery dimensions e Todd map 5

External Network Local Action Plan Definition: Article 24 of Law 6/2006 “ instrument to plan integrated actions for social promotion, prevention and integration”; Concretely art. 24 has led to the creation of local working groups constituted by: - Institutional subjects (social services, local Health services) - Private subject (foundations, associations, …) - Volunteering associations Object/goal: make networks, collecting all the resources (human and financial resources) on the territory In fact, several institutional and no institutional subjects take part in local action plans to propose and build up projects and sharing resources 6

Risks Working for single subjects Local working groups are divided for types of clients: adults, minors, seniors, handicap) Caritas doesn’t take part in minors working group because we don’t have specific services for them. Caritas is out of the institutional formal network But in our services we meet families , mothers and fathers so indirectly we take care of minors problems. Therefore Caritas takes part in an informal network with other private subjects Creation of transversal projects Integration of social/health actions has led to a unbalance of power inside of working groups. Local health services have more decision- making power 7

Internal Caritas Network • The internal Caritas network runs a wide range of services, which even if not specific for children help to reduce the impact of poverty and social exclusion on children’s lives , since they try to solve some basic problems of many families like -food, house etc. 8

Low threshold services • There are two low threshold services which are very important for the first approach of the families: • The soup kitchen “Giorgia Monti” which offers hot meals for people sent by the social services of the Trieste Municipality or by the Counseling Center of Caritas ; In the soup kitchen Caritas created an appropriate space where the family members can have their meals with more privacy and quiet and there is easier for the social workers or volunteers to approach them. • The Counseling Center “Sergio Peschier” : Anybody can have direct access, Italian citizens or foreign citizens regardless of their status(regular and irregular migrants); it’s not specific for children problems but comes in touch with many families affected by economic, social, integration , addiction (drugs, alcohol) problems etc. The main activity of the center is to analyze the needs and to activate the take over of the case by the public or private competent services.

Projects and services for autonomy second level care houses The Caritas of Trieste has three care houses where families can be hosted: Care House” La Madre” for mothers and children, where they are supported in many needs, parenthood , children’s education, facilitation of the access to the public and private services for mother and child, access to language courses (for foreigners) access to training courses, access to labor market etc. Care House “Teresiano” for adults; in some cases families were housed (when was impossible to separate fathers from the rest of the family, since in La madre men are not allowed) The work we do with the families is the same as in other care houses(support parenthood , children’s education, facilitation of the access to the public and private services access to labor market etc. ) Care House “Betania” for young adults who have already reached a good level of autonomy(have a job, even low paid, because they have to take care for themselves for the expenses like food, etc. )

Other promotional projects #1 Project in association with USSM (Department for Minor Justice) The Caritas Trieste works with the Department for Minor Justice creating individual projects for minors who entered in the judicial circuit and are at risk of social exclusion. The aim of the project is to foster a path to social recovery, supporting the Minors in starting work on probation within social and health realities. This improves their self esteem and their personal resources and enables them to start with new life projects. Young group activities within the Day. Care Center “La Tenda” They organize weekly meetings for young people without parental support and friendship and therefore at risk for social isolation; the aim of the project is to give the opportunity to create new relationships between the clients of Caritas services in a fun and recreational context; the social workers and psychologists help them to choose group activities promoting sports, sightseeing, film forums with debate afterward etc. 11

Other promotional projects #2 Civil Service volunteers (age 16 - 18) They are going to participate to two projects: “Art to share now” (Decoration painting project, bricolages and “kites”, Kites day “open space downtown and flea market of the craftworks products as the final step of the acivity) “Course of computer literacy” for elderly citizens; the aim of the project is to promote the exchange between generations, help to improve the social communication and promote the Active Citizenship. The two activities will take place in the day care Center La Tenda but they will be open to everybody, not only for Caritas clients. 12

Challenges of internal network • Promote a good exchange of information between different services • Enlarged team meetings (including all social workers from Care Houses, Day Care Center, Counseling Center) • Create a common standard record card used by all services involved • Create a job description for all the services as well as giving same rules in all care houses • Create a common computer data base 13

Thank you for your attention Marco Aliotta Sara Cravagna Katarina Modic 14