Children at Risk

Children at Risk

 

The Romanian Churches Ecumenical Association set up in 1996 the Medical-Social Recovery and Help Foundation for the disabled children, managed by IPS Nifor of Targoviste, which has a social center in Bucharest – Saint Macrina. The name was inspired by Saint Vasile the Great’s sister. Saint Macrina dedicated her life to helping the poor: children, old people, and people facing difficult situations.

Target groups: children and youth with ages between 7 and 22 confronting major socio-economic difficulties, with various backgrounds:

• Children and youth which lived for a while on the street, or children born on the street and living there with their homeless parents.
• Children and youth spending day-time on street returning home for night;
• Children and youth at risk: by different reasons they are economically exploited or forced to do crimes – begging, stealing, pick pocketing, prostitution a.s.o.
• Families of children assisted in Foundation social programs confronting extreme poverty or other social problems.

 

Since 2005, Saint Macrina Foundation is accredited by the General Direction of Social Assistance from the Ministry of Work, Social Solidarity and Family, as social services supplier for the following services:

 

a. Day-care Center

Considered the first step of the complete set of services provided by the Foundation, aiming social integration, the Day-care Center offered social services for a number of 50 children every day, four days a week.

b. Placement center:

Being focused on children’s personal development, residential program has following objectives: school integration, specialized supervision for solving emotional and behavioral problems and acquiring skills for independent life.

 

c. Sheltered housing for boys – Acquisition of skills for independent life

Social apartment for boys has as main goal socio-professional integration of youth over 18 years old originating from Day care center or from Residential center, or even referred by other institution (public or private). Social work done there was centered on learning rules of living in society, on designing an appropriate behavior, on “dismantling” their aggressive attitude, on acquiring skills on conflict resolution.

 

d. Sheltered housing for girls – Acquisition of skills for independent life

The programme has as main goal the complete and stabile social reintegration for young girls. First of all, girls assisted have to keep their working place, than to learn to manage their personal budget and acquire skills for administrating their living place. All beneficiaries must follow an institutional track, as long as at the admission in the program they had very few skills and major lack in education.

 

e. « Countryside house »

The beneficiaries of this project are the 38 children and youth assisted in the residential program and in youth program. This project plays a very important role in developing our beneficiaries’ skills for independent life; it also represents a good opportunity to spend some relaxing time during weekend and vacations.

 

f. Pastoral care:

This program is essential for all Foundation activities because it addresses to the unity between body and soul. Physical and psychological traumas can’t be healed without God’s help. Prayers, spiritual counseling, both help our beneficiaries to pass over difficult moments in their life and help them project themselves in future.

g. Medical program:

The medical program represented a common part of all accredited social services in our Foundation, having as main goal the prevention and also the treatment for maintaining a good health state for all our beneficiaries.

The medical program is open to all children and youth assisted and, according to needs and possibilities, to their families. The counseling on health and hygiene issue provided to beneficiaries’ families, followed by home visits, was an important component of our prevention strategy.

 

 

The A.R.M.S. Fundation

Social Center "Sfanta Macrina"
Bucharest, 14 Ilarie Chendi Street, 2nd District, Romania
Tel/fax: +4-021-2527658
Tel/fax: +4-021-2521696
e-mail: macrina.center@gmail.com

Executive Director,
Father Gabriel Cazacu