Organising the support network for social integration and empowerment of minor refugees and their families in the Thessaloniki area .
Project duration: 1/2/2017 – 31/5/2018
Budget: 512.079,00€
Total expenses 2018 (01/01/2018 – 31/05/2018): 161.676, 67€
During the period 1/2/2017 – 31/5/2018, ARSIS implemented the project “Organising the support network for social integration and empowerment of minor refugees and their families in the Thessaloniki area” in collaboration with the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB), which was funded by the German Federal Foreign Ministry (GFM). The project aimed at the development of supportive activities for young people and children of refugees, as well as for their families through the creation of a Youth Support Centre (YSC).
Activities of the YSCincluded the Social Service, an educational and creative programme for children inside or outside the YSC, Administrative Support for beneficiaries, and distribution of basic necessities. In order to reach beneficiaries, ARSIS utilised tools such as mobile social work (Streetwork) and the Mobile School.
Within the framework of the project, a human rights awareness campaign was simultaneously organised in primary and secondary schools in Thessaloniki, aiming atthe smoother integration of refugees in the local community, as well as informing and sensitizing teachers, students and Parents’ Associations about the matter.
The project provided psychosocial and educational support, social integration services, basic necessities, child protection and human rights education. The project management team included psychologists, social workers, social scientists, teachers, a driver, and a pediatrician.
After construction of the YSC at Ptolemaion 40 street was completed a year prior, the Centre opened its doors to hundreds of kids and young people, as well as their families or guardians. In 2018, a total of 1.563 kids, teens, young people and their families benefitted from YSC services, reaffirming the need for an open structure at the centre of Thessaloniki. The YPS served visitors and beneficiaries from the following countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Congo, Ethiopia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Morocco, Nigeria, Palestine, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Syria, and Turkey.
The Annual Project Review 2018 here