Social Inclusion projects
Ongoing social services
Center for independent living "Casa tufa"
It is the first Center for Independent Living (CPVI) ”Casa Tufa”, established in the spring of 2012, in the city of Mihailesti, Giurgiu County. In a generous space, composed of 5 rooms and a living room, live 9 people who have been deinstitutionalized from residential centers in Giurgiu County and Bucharest. So far, this service is the most experienced, the clients being completely adapted to the community life, and for some of them they follow the natural step towards a more independent life - moving to individual homes, based on a rent they will pay as future tenants. Many beautiful things happened during the service, such as the first leave of some of the clients, the reunion with the family in Cluj after 14 years of separation and the first flight by plane for the first visit to the European Parliament in Brussels. CPVI Tufa represents "home" as for us, our homes are the place in which we take refuge and feel secure. The house has a generous yard, enriched with flowers, fruit trees and household animals. Because the people here are inventive, they have built their own terrace, a place to eat and socialize, located outside the house and where most of the time, they spend time with those who are visiting. This service provides ongoing support to its customers (24/7).
Center for independent living "casa METAMORFOZE"
The second CPVI "Casa Metamorfoze" became active in the summer of 2013 in the Joita village, Giurgiu county. Even if the current tenants came here from Bucharest, they quickly adapted to the life of a potential community area and learned how to care for a yard and what it means to grow your own vegetables. Therefore, they also bought a greenhouse, which they set up and they thought about growing tomatoes and cucumbers, eggplants, peppers, cabbage and strawberries. Then came the turn of the court arrangement which was beautified with flowers, shrubs and decorative elements that could not be missing, of course, the animals! If you visit us, here you will find cats, dogs, rabbits, chickens and chicks! Part of the tenants of the service works, so they make the commute to Bucharest every morning, motivated by what they do, the feeling of social utility and the opportunities that exist when you have a salary that you spend at will. This service provides ongoing support to its customers (24/7).
Center for independent living "casa MIHAIL"
In September 2014, the third CPVI of the Pro ACT "Casa Mihail" opens in Novaci, Giurgiu county. This house has a special history conferred by the complex partnership that was the basis of the construction itself. Thus, the model of the house is designed by the "Institute for Human Centered Design"; of Boston, USA, which promotes the concept of universal design - a house adapted to any situation that may arise at any given time in the health of the members living in that house, Habitat for Humanity Romania builds the house with this approach focused on voluntary work and attracting prominent personalities, while Pro ACT Suport provides the necessary services for people with disabilities living in the house. The partnership started in the summer of 2012 and ended in 2014, when the first 7 tenants also moved. For the young residents here, the yard is designed to be set up as social economy units, and the year 2015 meant for them the development of the necessary infrastructures for organizing the turkey farm and the vegetable greenhouse. As with the other services, some of the tenants also work in the community, while others are involved in specific activities such as providing food and water for animals, cleaning at their paddock, cleaning and harvesting vegetables in the greenhouse, maintaining the yard and flowers. The profile of the clients is in harmony with the location of the service, in the sense that here are people who like life in a small community, where the rythm is slower and the activities are mainly related to animal husbandry and care of the land. The people here are involved in the life of the village, have friends, neighbors, attend local events and are truly included in the community. This service provides ongoing support to its customers (24/7).
Center for independent living "TREPTE"
Opened in the spring of 2015, CPVI Trepte is the right location for some of our clients with a higher degree of autonomy. The young people here work and self-manage, with partial support. Over time, they have developed independent living skills and have discovered new passions, so that their life is now full of normality, they work, they go to work, they have friends they invite to visit, they travel, they house and enjoy life.
Center for independent living "IMAGE"
Also open in the spring of 2015, CPVI Image is home to 3 persons who are in the process of intense preparation for independent living. Each client is trained and prepared to lead a natural life in the community. It is important to note that, before coming to this service, these young people lived in other services with continuous support, during which time they learned, acquired knowledge and skills that allowed them to move here, where they receive punctual support. The young people live in a 3-room apartment on a long term rented.
Center for independent living "TINERETULUI" (YOUTH)
CPVI Tineretului is part of the triad of those opened in the spring of 2015, inaugurated as CPVI Pacii. Meanwhile, the location was changed and CPVI took another name, more appropriate to the advanced degree of autonomy of young people, respectively CPVI Tineretului (Youth). It is inhabited by 5 boys, who, by offering continuous support, are inspired to overcome their fears and encourage autonomy towards independence.
Center for independent living "ILEANA"
At CPVI Ileana there are young people with concerns about school or looking for a job. The apartment they live in consists of 3 rooms and is on long term rented. The owner of the apartment is a strong ally and when it was the case, she "fought" with the administration of the building, when we had to buidt a ramp for a person with neuro-motor disability. The support offered to the 5 people is a continuous one, because they need guidance in all areas of life.
MINIMUM PROTECTED HOUSING "Simona"
MPH Simona is really .... Simona ... the person with the most spectacular evolution from Pro ACT. She came to us in 2012 as a fearful and frightened being by his own shadow, looking like a boy, but gradually managed to gain courage and initiative. First she worked at a pastry factory in the locality where she lived, then started making cakes and cakes to order; she befriended the social worker from the Pro ACT team who was a support person and with whom she spent her holidays for several years in a row, and then, in 2017, to move alone to a rented home where she lives at the moment. Only good things can be said about Simona, she has transformed from a shy person, into a beautiful woman, capable of making her own decisions and assuming her past and present to be a lesson of courage and determination for us all in the future, but especially for those who live in public institutions and have lost the hope of achieving a decent life in society.
Center for independent living "COSANZEANA"
CPVI Cosanzeana is the model housing service in the community, which Pro ACT Suport developed in 2021 for 5 young women with the desire to evolve and become independent. Some of the young women already have a stable job and are more autonomous, while others, more recently hosted, are in the early stages of understanding the importance of autonomy.
MINIMUM PROTECTED HOUSING ”INCEPUTURI” (bEGINNINGS)
The latest Pro ACT service is established in 2021 and hosts young people with a high degree of autonomy, determined to win the bet with their lives. They work and manage themselves, receiving support only when necessary. The apartment consists of three rooms and, as in other situations, is long-term rented. The longest-lived couple of Pro ACT also moved here, who have the opportunity to practice life as a couple, with good things, but also with challenges.
erasmus
Ongoing project
“Mind Inclusion 3.0.” is a continuation of “Mind Inclusion 2.0”, an ambitious, large-scale project in which organizations from Italy, Spain and Romania are involved. The “Mind Inclusion 3.0” project, financed by the European “Erasmus Plus” program, wants to reduce barriers and promote the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities by making the environment as inclusive and welcoming as possible. Within the project, a mobile application will be developed in which both people with disabilities and business owners (restaurants, hotels, cinemas, theaters, museums, etc.) will be able to evaluate and specify whether they are accessible and/or offer services adapted to the needs of people with disabilities. The innovation of this approach is found in the method of creating the application, the one through which the targeted persons themselves are involved in the “construction”, i.e. business owners and people with disabilities. In addition, 2 learning platforms will be created that will include many resources about disability addressed to specialists in the social field, but also to business owners. The project partners are: Universitat de València (Spain), Margherita Società Cooperativa Sociale Onlus (Italy), Fundacion Intras (Spain), Asociatia Pro ACT Suport (Romania), SocialIT Software and consultancy (Italy), Confartigianato Imprese Vicenza (Italy).
Iceland,Liechtenstein, norway - active citizens fund
Project completed
“DARE: Development, Skills, Resilience and Equity for an independent life of people with disabilities” project was financed by the Active Citizens Fund Romania Program, in which Pro ACT Suport, in partnership with the FARA Foundation, the Speranta Empowerment Foundation Timisoara and the International Organization for Democracy and Human Rights Norway, addressed the deficiency in the continuum of services for people with disabilities, both in the residential system and for those who are at risk of (re)institutionalization. In this sense, a new type of social service was introduced – the Supervised Independent Living Service (STIS). The advantage of STIS is to offer a safety net to people with disabilities in search of autonomy and a fulfilled life in the community. STIS was thought of as a form of support provided to people with disabilities who have experienced life in the residential system, marked by the rigors and limits of the institution or those who are dependent on family and community help. The STIS model was piloted for a period of 12 months, and its expected results were detailed in a public policy document that tried to reduce resilience, social inclusion and reduce inequities regarding people with disabilities.
International Women’s Association of Bucharest
Project completed
The project financed by IWA contributed to the achievement of the mission of our organization, to support intellectual disabled and mental health persons from CPVI “Casa Tufa” feel themselves at home in the centre, while increasing their living conditions and safety of the house. More precisely:
-10 beneficiaries, persons with intelectual disabilities and mental health problems, benefit of increased living conditions by sanitizing the bathrooms of the house and equipping them with new and safer sanitary objects as well as with a new electric boiler
– 4 caregivers will have better working conditions by decreasing their stress and concern when the beneficiaries are using the bathrooms, due to the safety appliances installed.
– The Association better meets the provision of the minimum quality standards that regulate the functioning conditions of the centres for independent living .
The progresses of our clients are periodically monitored by our team of professionals and reflected in their individual intervention plan where are set the development objectives in different areas like: health, family life, socialization, occupations, housing and hygiene, employment, leisure time etc. An improvement of the living conditions and hygiene of the house is helping to better understand about a minimum comfort of living and of keeping the cleaning of a house.
ERASMUS
Project completed
“WorkABLE: Developing Competencies of Adult Educators to Support the Employment of Persons with Mental Disabilities”, ERASMUS + program, KA204 – Strategic Partnerships for adult education. Project in which Pro ACT Suport is part of a consortium consisting of a total of five entities from four countries: Italy, Slovenia, Cyprus and Romania. The major objective of the project is to design and launch an electronic platform that contains training modules for those interested in acquiring the knowledge necessary to provide support for people with intellectual disabilities to employment. The project started in September 2019 and will end in August 2021.
TELLUS
Project completed
“New beginnings – Support for young people with intellectual disabilities to build their lives” completed in 2019, the project was funded by the Foundation “TELUS International Romania Community Board”. Among the expected results are: the organization of 400 psychotherapy sessions for 20 young people with intellectual disabilities, another 15 young people with intellectual disabilities were employed on the free labor market. 3 public-private partnerships were concluded with the General Directorates of Social Assistance and Child Protection in sectors 1, 3 and 6 in Bucharest; 2 training manuals for young people with intellectual disabilities were developed and counseling sessions were organized for a group of 41 young people with intellectual disabilities from public residential institutions on topics related to healthy life, harmonious devolution, relationships and sexual life. Thus, Pro ACT has helped to encourage these young people to build their own lives and become socially and professionally integrated people in society.
International Women’s Association of Bucharest
Project completed
Equipment for the kitchen from CPVI Mihail, with the support of the International Women’s Association of Bucharest. The purpose of the project is to support people with intellectual disabilities to feel accepted, confident in their strengths and able to carry out activities for the benefit of their own and others. Thus, a number of 6 clients have been identified who want, may and need a therapeutic activity, that of being involved in the activities of the micro-poultry farm of the organization and in the preparation of the meat to be delivered. A daily program of specific activities and responsibilities was developed, adapted to each client, through which 38 customers will improve their daily diet with fresh and healthy meat from turkeys and chickens.
This project covered 20% of the daily food allowance for all Pro ACT services. There were purchased 12 types of equipment and equipment specific to the activity (transport freezers, high capacity refrigerator, stainless steel table, electronic scales, knives, saws, scissors and butchers’ axes, electric knives, working table for butchers, trays and stainless steel containers) and 5 types of consumables (saw blades, sorts, kitchen slippers, plastic gloves, packaging). The expected result of the project was achieved by creating an example of good practice for other social service providers for people with disabilities.
Fundraising AND outsourcing FOR Pro ACT SuporT
Project completed
The year 2013 finds Pro ACT Suport in full organizational development, which is why it focuses on the fundraising component and the creation of the network of collaborators. In this context, the “Fundraising & Outsourcing” project, which receives funding from the Open Society Foundations – Mental Health Initiative, wins. The networking activities took place during 12 months, from April 2013 to March 2014. The project completion brings some notable results, including the fact that Pro ACT Suport Association becomes a full member of the Business International Network and the American Chamber of Commerce in Romania. These actions also resonate in our present activity, numerous actions and contacts bearing the emblem of the two organizations.
INVESTING IN PEOPLE
Project completed
Following the success model of the project “Healthy eating” from CPVI Metamorfoze, in the autumn of 2014, several social economy units are set up in the court of CPVI Mihail. Under the auspices of Open Society Foundations – Mental Health Initiative, the project is titled “Investing in People” and lays the foundation for the infrastructure needed to organize a farm of turkeys, chickens and organic rabbits and a vegetable greenhouse. The efforts of our clients, people with intellectual disabilities assisted by caregivers to take care for animals and plants were rewarded with a rich harvest of tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers and peppers, green salad, onion and garlic, and turkeys, chickens and rabbits provided the necessary food for all Pro ACT Support services. The project ends in the spring of 2015, when it becomes completely sustainable and is still in progress.
HEALTHY EATING
Project completed
In November 2013, funds were accessed to set up a vegetable greenhouse within the Center for Independent Living (CPVI) “Metamorfoze”, through a project entitled “Healthy eating”. This initiative, funded by the Open Society Foundations – Mental Health Initiative, came to meet the goals that Pro ACT Support has set, of building on one hand, the necessary framework for the clients to get used to a work program in order for them to be prepared to occupy a job and, on the other hand, offering a healthy food and at the same time promoting a healthy lifestyle. The efficiency of the greenhouse was immediately found in supplying all the CPVIs with fresh products, which became the measure of financial sustainability of the services developed by Pro ACT Suport. The project was completed in May 2014, with a production of tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants and bell peppers that covered the house’s needs throughout its development, the greenhouse still proving its usefulness at present.