FamilyNet

<< Background >>We have decided to submit the application in order to professionalize the gradual development of one of our three programs, namely the program of work with families. This program was created in the organization because of the desire not to lose contact with young people and families with whom we worked in the socially excluded community in Petržalka, after the demolition of the social hostel where the families and young people lived. As part of the programme, we provide social and psychological counselling to families who are at risk of social exclusion or in other difficult situations - for example, in terms of functioning within the formal education system. One of the main objectives of the project was to develop the competencies of the direct workers and to build a system of work within the programme. As the direct work in our organisation operates on low-threshold principles we found a partner organisation that operates more within the framework of institutional support for families. We hypothesized that this combination of different approaches may enrich both organizations and their staff members through job shadowing, and may also provide insight into the issues from different perspectives.<< Objectives >>The main objective of the project was to increase the competences and build the capacity of partner organisations in the provision of services for children, youth and families in critical situations. Through sub-objectives such as the creation of professional training in the topic of family counselling for children, youth and families in crisis and the training of workers, the implementation of two job shadowing - knowledge sharing, the creation of a professional manual for working with families in crisis and at the same time the dissemination of the acquired know-how through professional dissemination seminars, i.e. the involvement in the presented topic of the actors involved in the mentioned issue. The reason for creating the manual, which is the project's main output, was the need to share functional and proven tools that help us - youth workers, family counsellors, therapists, and social workers - to work with and support families. In our work, we meet families who are usually in some crisis and often do not know what they can do about it. They don't always have the knowledge of how best to improve their relationships or how to communicate constructively with each other. We try to support families in that. << Implementation >>In our project, we carried out two job shadowing sessions on both the Slovak and Spanish sides, with 3 female workers with families from Youth of the Street participating in the Spanish job shadowing session. It took place on 20.6 - 24.6. in Pamplona and Huarte. The job shadowing on the Slovak side was attended by 4 male and female workers from the partner organisation ANNF. It took place on 20-25 November in Bratislava. We implemented professional training for female workers with children, youth and families in crisis, led by a trainer from Spain on 17 - 19 October 2023 in Pamplona - Iruña, Spain. The training was attended by three female workers working with youth and families at risk from the Street Youth organization and 10 male and female workers from the ANNF Shapniel organization. The topic was community work with families in critical situations, and the trainer presented concrete tools for this type of work, such as community cooking. The acquired knowledge and skills were then applied by the organizations' male and female workers in direct work with children young people and families. We created a professional manual for family counselling. 2 professional dissemination seminars in each country.<< Results >>The topic of the training was community work with families in a critical situation, and the lecturer presented concrete tools for this type of work, such as community cooking. The trainer emphasized interactivity and included a self-discovery part where we discussed our ideas of family and what demands we and ourselves place on families. The training concluded with the sharing of good practices between Street Youth and ANNF. The jobshadowing program in Spain included participation in individual sessions of the workers from ANNF but also visits to different organizations at the municipal and regional level, for example: the Municipality of Navarra: Social Department, Corella: Children and Family Program. The jobshadowing program on the Slovak side was participation in direct work, and visits to organizations at local and municipal level. For example. We created a professional manual for social and psychological counselling in the framework of work with families in natural environment and in the environment of institutional support. We then disseminated this manual and the approaches and ways of working we had acquired at 2 professional seminars among the professional public (youth workers, social workers, social educators, teachers