Projektas "Gamta, grupė, santykis - pagalba vaikams ir paaugliams turintiems elgesio sunkumų Terapiniame ūkyje”
Projekto tikslas – remiantis terapinio ūkininkavimo metodologija, koreguoti smurtaujančių vaikų ir vaikų, kuriems paskirtos vaiko minimalios priežiūros priemonės elgesio modelį, lavinti jų socialinius, darbinius įgūdžius bei ugdyti vaikų/paauglių psichologinį atsparumą, stiprinant ir artimiausios aplinkos narių socialines-emocines kompetencijas
Projekto tikslinė grupė - Vilniaus, Švenčionių rajonuose gyvenantys paaugliai nuo 11 iki 17 metų, kurie naudoja (-o) smurtą prieš bendraamžius ir (ar) gyvūnus, ir (ar) kitus aplinkinius, apimant ir smurtą virtualioje erdvėje.
Projekte bus dirbama su 21 unikaliu asmeniu. Projekte planuojama dirbti su 7 jaunuoliais iš Vilniaus rajono ir 14 – iš Švenčionių rajono.
Projekto trukmė: 2024 m. liepa -gruodis
Projekto vykdymo vieta: Seno Strūnaičio g. 1, Senas Strūnaitis, Švenčionių rajonas
Projekto įgyvendinimui skirtos lėšos: 34000.00 Eur.
Projektas finansuojamas LR socialinės apsaugos ir darbo ministerijos lėšomis.
Š. m. lapkričio 1, 3 ir 4 dienomis vyko trijų dienų trukmės dienos stovykla jaunuoliams Terapiniame ūkyje. „Socialinių įgūdžių ugdymo ir asmeninės karjeros valdymo dienos stovykla“ buvo remiama Švenčionių savivaldybės Kultūros, švietimo ir sporto programos. Stovyklos metu jaunuoliai turėjo galimybę susipažinti su Terapinio ūkininkavimo praktikomis, gilinosi į save, mokėsi bendrauti tarpusavyje, taip pat tyrinėjo su asmenine karjera susijusias temas.
2014-2021 EUROPEAN ECONOMIC SPACE FINANCIAL MECHANISM PROJECT
"Social integration of young people from families experiencing social risk and the care system using the Therapeutic Farm methodology" project.
Description
The aim of the project is to create a therapeutic farm and, through the activities carried out in it, help young people to integrate into the environment around them, the education system and the labor market.
The project provides for complex activities - plant and animal therapy, individual and group consultations, acquisition of basic professional skills, etc.
The target group of the project is:
- children and young people from families experiencing social risk, starting an independent life; children and young people from the care system (child care institutions, guardian (carer) families, families) starting an independent life;
- children and young people who leave closed-type institutions (e.g. socialization centers, mental (psychiatry) day hospital) and start an independent life or return to their place of residence; young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who come from socially vulnerable families and the care system.
28 young people will be involved in the project activities during the entire project (within a period of 16 months).
In parallel, the project will work with 80 specialists who work in the social care system and other institutions working with social risk families. Harmonious cooperation of all institutions working with young people is very important to achieve the results of the project. It is important that the environment from which young people leave understands their needs and supports the further path of their integration. Therefore, in the course of the project, it is planned to train employees working with young people in the methodology of work with youth applied in the therapeutic farm.
The main results of the project are to help young people learn to live independently, solve everyday problems independently, develop motivation and provide the opportunity to integrate into the labor market.
The project is financed by the financial mechanism of the European Economic Area. The project started in 2022 and will be completed in 2023.
The project is implemented in accordance with the "Mechanisms for strengthening social integration for children and young people with high-risk behavior and/or from disadvantaged backgrounds" in accordance with the "2014-2021 European Economic Area Financial Mechanism Program" guidelines for applicants.
Implementation and results
in 2023 in September, the project "Social integration of young people from families experiencing social risk and the care system using the Therapeutic Farm methodology" was completed.
We started implementing the project in 2022. in April, when we made repairs in the former school of Seno Strūnaitis village and prepared the base for the first Therapeutic Farm in Lithuania for young people experiencing various challenges. In 2022 at the end of the summer, we invited even four groups of participants to start visiting the Therapeutic Farm from September, each group coming to the farm every week on the day designated for that group (from Monday to Thursday).
When we started working with young people, we drew on various foreign experiences, where similar farms are a very common practice to help young people experiencing challenges, and especially we learned a lot about the principles of Therapeutic Farming from our project partners - the Therapeutic Farm Hestegarden, located in Norway. 4 employees had the opportunity to visit this farm and see with their own eyes the everyday work of the farm, as well as the added therapeutic value it creates for its customers.
Cooperation with the representatives of the Kingdom of Norway was pleasant and productive, and we can still turn to them for advice if we encounter any questions or difficulties in our daily work on the farm.
Thus, every week, the young people visiting the farm for one full day had the opportunity to be in a natural environment, do meaningful work and socialize in a group. Specialists working on the farm soon noticed that this practice is very effective and the young people not only acquire very important life skills for them: they learn to take care of animals, cook food, take care of their own hygiene, etc., but also receive therapeutic benefits: the use of medications is reduced, feel less anxiety, make meaningful connections, have more self-confidence, feel more accepted, understood.
Some young people visited the farm at least 8 times, and some even 37 times. During that time, the young people got to know each other, they went through the adaptation process, and formulated goals of personal growth and career. A lot of career topics were touched on in 2023. in the months of May-June, when, at the end of the program, young people visited new employers, gymnasiums, vocational schools in order to return to the education system or the labor market.
In total, 32 young people participated in the Therapeutic Farming program in 2022-2023. Of them, as many as 18, who before that, did not study, did not work or dropped out of the education system, returned to education or work. We consider this a great success for the young people, colleagues, method and project. We believe and hope that more such initiatives will appear in Lithuania and young people who, due to certain unfavorable circumstances, appear at social risk, will be able to find a safe place for themselves.
In September 2023, the head of the "Therapeutic Farming" program, Kristijonas Žičkus, invited specialists working with vulnerable young people from various districts of Lithuania (Zarasai, Molėtai, Utena, Visaginas, Ignalina, Vilnius, and the city of Vilnius) to training sessions where participants discussed the psychosocial problems of vulnerable teenagers and young people. Training participants were individual care workers, social workers, social worker assistants, career counsellors, employment specialists, case managers, etc. They willingly discussed, raised questions, and together considered how to help vulnerable clients and what services would be effective for them. 123 employees participated in 5 training events (adding the one, which occurred in April), they gained new knowledge, made professional acquaintances and connections.