SOCIAL WORKERS
The role of a social worker during the arrival of a victim of an accommodation is to initiate an interview during which information is provided on the reasons for the arrival of the accommodation, collect the necessary information on the violence experienced, going through available documentation and collect socioanamnestic data that is of importance for further residence in our Home. At this stage it is necessary to take into account the health status and the needs of the beneficiary and its children so that they can arrange and provide adequate care in terms of appropriate nutrition, care, necessary medication etc. With the information collected, the social worker informs other members of the professional and technical team (psychologist, lawyer, housekeepers) so that everyone can approach the victim individually, having in mind her needs.
In most cases children are accommodated with their mothers as victims of violence. Since the legal status of a child, after coming to our Home is often undefined, the social worker initiates procedures to protect the rights and well-being of a child (mainly parental care decisions, contacts with a parent who does not live with a child), cooperating with the lawyer and our Home’s psychologist.
In order to make adaptation to new circumstances easier (after accommodation in our Home), a social worker immediately determines child’s educational status and contacts pre-school and school to include children in the pedagogical and educational process so that they can recover as quickly as possible gaining new knowledge and socialization skills. Right after that being done, our social workers then consult beneficiaries (victims of domestic violence) to make a plan to develop and improve their parenting competencies. Also, the expert work is focused on creating and maintaining a positive climate between users as well as helping to resolve the situation.
Advisory or individual work is based on informing and helping users to gain rights from the social welfare system as well as rights from other systems and to provide them with assistance and support in their psychosocial rehabilitation. Emphasis on working with beneficiaries is developing their independence and achieving their rights, in order to be as independent as possible and prepared for life outside the institution. Given the individual needs of each user on the accommodation, the approach and the work of the accommodation are adjusted to each user and the ultimate goal is to enable and isolate a person for independent life without violence. This includes co-operation with various institutions, primarily CZSS, police and the court, HZZZ, kindergartens, various non-governmental organizations and others.
PSYCHOLOGIST
Psychologist is primarily focused on strengthening users’ capacities and preparing for independent living after leaving our Home. Activities with users and their children are carried out through two forms of work, both individual and group.
INDIVIDUAL APPROACH is carried out with the purpose of psychodiagnostics and proper planning of treatment in order to solve specific difficulties in everyday life which can jeopardize the quality of life of the user and in order to evaluate the effects of the treatment. This is achieved through the provision of psychological support and counseling, which includes work on the repair of psychosocial difficulties and work on developing a positive image of itself, others and the world.
GROUP WORK is conducted by psychologists and social workers, and the groups are formed in accordance with the characteristics of the person at the accommodation. Weekly workshops are held regularly by all adult users and in order to develop collaborative relationships, support and empowerment of users, developing an active approach to dealing with life difficulties, psychoeducation, adopting social and communication skills and preventing risk behavior. Every three weeks there are group educational workshops for parents on parents-related and child-related issues with the aim of improving parenting skills and solving specific educational problems. Depending on the age of the children in our Home, there are weekly workshops for school children and / or interactive workshops for parents and preschool children. Content and topics are designed to help strengthen self-confidence and self-esteem, build social skills, and learn how to deal with stress.
In addition, the work of a psychologist, in cooperation with other members of the professional team, includes all activities related to social care and psychosocial rehabilitation (user acceptance and dismissal, evaluation and monitoring, work activities, accompanying programs, organization of free time of the user), and are related to health care (monitoring the general health and organizing health services).
LAWYER
The role of a lawyer in our Home is to provide the users with the necessary legal and professional support when solving their family legal problems. Counseling extends to all legal areas from employment to criminal and misdemeanor proceedings, execution, etc.
The aim is to make it easier for users to take all the steps they need to make on their way to their goal: divorce, custody and upbringing, all issues related to the decision-making process for meetings and meetings with a parent who has not been given child care, communication with the police, information on the stage of the proceeding against the perpetrator, preparation for testimony within the misdemeanor or criminal proceedings, etc.
Our lawyer is dispositional to our beneficiaries continuously through the week. Our lawyer uses individual approach, depending on the specifics and needs of each user. In addition to the above-mentioned methods, individual empowerment techniques are used in individual work, as well as workflow-making of the required actions, so that it is easier for users to take all the steps on their way to the goal.
Part of the professional work is also related to daily co-operation with other professional associates of the Home that serves the proper planning, implementation and evaluation of treatment for each user or individual family. The aim of the co-operation is to ensure the availability of professional help and support throughout the stay at the Home, through several activities.