EUROPEAN VOLUNTARY SERVICE PROJECT

Transcription

1 EUROPEAN VOLUNTARY SERVICE PROJECT

2 Depaul has been hosting EVS/European Solidarity Corps volunteers for over fifteen years, working with volunteers and partners across Europe via the Erasmus+ programme. Depaul is a charity supporting people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. We are a cross border organisation established in the Republic of Ireland in 2002 and Northern Ireland in We are part of Depaul International, a group of charities working to support people who are homeless and marginalised around the world. Our services are low threshold, making them easier to access by those who can be excluded from other services that they often need most. Within the values of the work of Depaul lies a holistic approach to each individual with whom we work. This involves providing emotional support in addition to physical and practical services. It is within this structure of support that the work of our volunteer programme is vital. In particular, some of the EVS / European Solidarity Corps objectives are aimed at promoting awareness of exclusion and homelessness issues to the public, promoting healthier lifestyles, encouraging service users to develop skills and knowledge (through training or volunteering) for future employment and study and exploring and celebrating culture through art, food and dialogue. Over the years, each group of volunteers has brought something unique and vital to our services, while growing and developing themselves through this unique opportunity. 2017/18 s cohort were no different. Five young people came to Dublin from all over Europe, bringing with them a wealth of knowledge, experiences, attitudes, motivations and energy. They ranged in ages from eighteen to twenty-nine, and came from Galicia in Spain, from Germany, and from Italy. Our host projects comprise supported accommodation services for homeless people, which use a practice called harm reduction to support adults in managing their alcohol addiction. This approach aims to minimise the effects of various substances while working to improve the lives of our service users, and volunteers play an important role in this. Depaul s EVS & European Solidarity Corps volunteers bring fresh ideas and experiences into our Services. This helps Depaul to share wider skills, perspective and opportunities with our service users; volunteer activities are vital to our work. This year our EVS volunteers held cultural celebration days, accompanied vulnerable service users to access basic health provision, organised trips to museums, provided feedback on Depaul s strategic work, made photo galleries, promoted healthy relationships, provided creative play and brought great moments of happiness into the lives of service users. Even seemingly basic activities are important and our volunteers have many barriers to overcome. Our service users can be very resistant to any form of positive change in their lives. They may not trust new people, might have suffered abuse or trauma, be struggling with poor mental health or addiction. Our volunteers learn how to be patient and develop skills to work with people where they re at. Read on to hear more and visit the European Solidarity Corps page of our website Depaul would like to thank all our EVS volunteers, Partner Sending Organisations and Léargas, the National Agency.

3 The volunteers and their services are: LARA PELITIERO RODRIGUEZ; SUNDIAL HOUSE: The first of its kind in Ireland, Sundial House is a long-term housing project operating in Dublin providing low threshold housing for people who have experienced extended periods of street homelessness and have entrenched alcohol use issues. Sundial House offers a holistic harm reduction response for each resident based on the principles of alcohol management. The project has been purpose-built to ensure high quality accommodation. The service accommodates 30 people, men and women, single people and couples in en-suite accommodation. There are both single and twin rooms (27 long-term beds and 3 rooms with enhanced care facilities). The project is staffed on a 24/7 basis, with meals provided and there are laundry facilities and an onsite nurse clinic. A keyworker is appointed to all residents to ensure they can access the services they require and receive the appropriate support to address their health-related issues. Sundial House provides warm, homely and long-term accommodation for people with complex support needs, providing them with the help they need to live healthy and positive lives. Lara, from Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain, was 22 years old at the time of starting her placement. She had participated in several volunteering opportunities with her sending During her time at Sundial House, Lara got to know the service users and learned how to interact with them, and to assess and meet their needs in a non-judgemental way. She regularly participated in the Breakfast Club, which required proficiency in budgeting and planning for supplies, shopping for supplies and cooking and serving the meal each day. This also involved coaxing and influencing the service users to get them to eat, as they can often be unwilling. This is an example of the contribution that volunteering, and the EVS programme in particular, can make to Depaul via our harm reduction approach. Lara learned how to be empathetic and understanding towards the service users; organisation, working with children and providing food and social interaction to homeless people. She had also attained a Degree in Social Education from the University of Santiago de Compostela. how to gently persuade and when to leave them alone. This required a lot of trust and understanding on both sides. Lara enjoying a day out in Dublin with Ruben and Mareike

4 Lara, Veronica, Ruben and Mareike at the River Liffey in Dublin RUBEN PENA FERNANDEZ; BACK LANE: Back Lane hostel is a 60-bed accommodation service with a well-deserved reputation for providing good quality accommodation, food and support for homeless men in Dublin. The project provides direct access, emergency and short-term accommodation on a six-month basis, for 60 single homeless men. The residents have access to a communal snooker and pool room, library and television lounge. During their stay, all residents are appointed a keyworker to ensure they can access all the services they require and receive the appropriate support. An individualised support plan is developed with the aim of helping each resident to address their complex support needs and move out of homelessness. The support plan covers life skills, budgeting, alcohol harm reduction, access to detox and rehabilitation, and physical and mental health support. Health support is provided by Depaul's Nurse Manager and visiting GP services. There is also a specialist support worker who engages with people facing mental health issues. Ruben is also from Galicia; from A Coruna. He was 29 years old when joining the EVS programme, and holds a Degree in Maritime Navigation and a Master s Degree in Maritime Transport. He brought a wealth of experience to the project, including a previous three-month student placement with a different Depaul service. Ruben joined the team at Back Lane, and quickly became an integral part of the service and a very visible and well-liked presence. He oversaw the project s football and pool tournaments, and planned and organised trips and outings for the residents. Ruben also helped out a lot with Depaul s Befriending programme, which operates out of Back Lane. He helped to organise a concert in memory of a resident who had passed away, and even sang a number himself!

5 He oversaw the production and delivery of a video featuring Depaul staff and affiliates, detailing issues around health and mental health in homelessness services, highlighting the difficulty service users might have. This helped to shed light on a very serious issue, and was instrumental in raising awareness. Ruben also found a hitherto-undiscovered talent; for art and painting. He found that he was very good at not just encouraging the service users to explore their artistic abilities, but that he had a hidden creative streak, too. This is an example of how our volunteers can develop themselves, while also helping our service users to develop. Ruben with an example of his artwork Lara, Mareike and Ruben assisting with an Open Day at Tús Nua

6 MAREIKE EISSING; PETER S PLACE: Peter s Place offers 35 accommodation places for young people experiencing homelessness. The service is a short-term project for a six month basis, for single young men and women experiencing homelessness. Each en-suite room also provides residents with a small kitchenette. The service has access to a variety of communal areas and laundry facilities. During their stay, all residents are appointed a keyworker to ensure they can access all the services they require and receive the appropriate support to move on and out of homelessness Together, the young person and their keyworker develop an individualised support that often covers areas such as life skills, budgeting, welfare entitlements, relationship work, education, employment and health support. Taking the time to learn to manage their own day-to-day independent living within the service is so important in equipping each young person with the skills needed for a positive move on. There is a strong focus on resettlement and finding longterm suitable accommodation so they can move out of homelessness and into local communities. The youngest participant in this project, Mareike was eighteen years old upon joining. She is from Bamberg in Germany, and had just finished school, and had previously volunteered at a care home for the elderly, and organising trips for young people. She had also contributed to a newspaper article about homelessness and drug use. Mareike was well-matched with her host project, Peter s Place, as it is a service for young people, aged 18-35, who generally respond well to a younger volunteer with plenty of energy and enthusiasm. Mareike was very proactive in working with the project staff and service users to determine service-user led activities and initiatives. Peter s Place is also a service that can be quiet many times throughout the day, as the residents have their own self-contained apartments, and are often out at work or studying during the day. Mareike showed a very flexible approach to her role, seeking and creating opportunities, being a self-starter and working on her own initiative rather than waiting for instruction from staff who are often too busy to find work to be done. She taught basic German and baking classes. She became very interested in dancing, and particularly traditional Irish dancing, and organised sessions at Peter s Place, thus learning and absorbing some Irish culture and history while bringing life and entertainment into her host project. A scene from one of Mareike s Irish Dancing sessions at Peter s Place She also attended training courses with one of our resettlement workers, assisting in finding accommodation, dealing with landlords etc. She dedicated a lot of her time at the project to helping residents in applying for or maintaining their Housing Assistance payment (HAP); she ran a HAP club at the service in order to assist residents ability to move on to independent living, securing a home of their own, thus contributing to Depaul s objective of preventing homelessness and assisting those who are affected by it.

7 Therefore, not only did Mareike prove to be a very valuable asset, but she demonstrated and developed her competency in this area. Mareike also identified the need for health and mental health awareness, and was instrumental in working with Ruben for the planning and arranging of the video detailed above. FRANCESCO VITIELLO; ORCHID HOUSE: Orchid House provides supported temporary accommodation for up to 23 men, women and couples with entrenched alcohol issues and complex needs. The service offers 24/7 support for residents, for up to a 6-month period though dedicated and individual keyworkers working with each person. Keyworkers advocate for and support residents to ensure they can access all the services they require and receive the appropriate support around their alcohol management, physical and mental health, welfare entitlements, life-skills and budgeting. Further specialist support is made available through the support of Sundial House, a neighbouring Depaul service, and by visiting doctors and other agencies. Orchid House aims to offer a homely environment to service users, supporting them to address the root causes of their homelessness and helping them to identify appropriate long term supported move-on opportunities. Francesco was 27 upon joining the project. He is from Milan in Italy, and studied Languages and Literature at Degree level, and International Relations at Postgraduate level. He has experience of teaching languages, planning activities for children, and has also worked as a tour guide for Erasmus+ students. The nature of the service at Orchid House means it can be quite challenging at times; it is a small, medium-term accommodation service for people with entrenched alcohol issues. The residents have their own rooms, and the communal areas are minimal. Therefore, maintaining levels of engagement among the residents can be a challenge. Francesco rose to the occasion; he took his time to get to know the residents, and to allow them to come to trust him. He brought his presence, enthusiasm, culture and knowledge to the project. As Orchid House is a comparatively small service with limited facilities, Francesco was proactive in working with this fellow EVS volunteers at other Depaul projects in order to seek joint initiatives and opportunities; the Orchid House & Sundial House pool competition was a regular feature of Francesco s schedule. As Orchid House is a residential facility serving active drug users, a resilient and pragmatic approach is required by staff and volunteers alike. Francesco learned about Depaul's harm reduction philosophy and approaches, which necessitate accepting and 'turning a blind eye' to service users' use of illicit substances. Therefore, he learned to be sympathetic and nonjudgemental in his approach to his role, aiding where possible and understanding that harm reduction means accepting what

8 we cannot change immediately while helping where we can. This gave him insights and competencies that are transferable and beneficial for his future roles. Francesco reported that he experienced a marked change and development, personally and professionally. He highlighted how he became more assertive, and better able to communicate as a result of his experience, while simultaneously developing his empathy and ability to at Orchid House. appreciate and understand others situations. At the end of his placement, he was a more confident, well-rounded person, and went on to undertake a teaching position in India as a result of how well he developed on the EVS programme. He left the project with a comprehensive handover presentation, detailing his experiences, his day-to-day activities and what he learned on his programme; it served as a good preview for the next EVS volunteer Francesco taking part in a pool competition VERONICA BOMBAGI; TÚS NUA: Tús Nua is the first service of its kind in Ireland supporting women leaving prison. The service works in close partnership with the Dóchas prison and the Probation Service in delivering safe secure accommodation for women with complex needs and a support programme aimed at preventing recidivism and assisting transition to independent living in the community. The service aims to prevent the risk of re-offending by supporting women to recognise their shortterm and long-term needs upon leaving prison. The support offered also includes learning life skills and identifying opportunities, to assist the women living in Tús Nua to manage independently. It is also vital that the women are encouraged to take a positive role in their community. Tús Nua accommodates 15 women in single rooms for up to 6 months. Each room is furnished and contains a kitchenette. All residents have access to communal spaces and the garden. Each resident is appointed a keyworker. Together they identify a support plan for their stay which covers life skills, budgeting, alcohol harm reduction, detox access, and physical and mental health support. The professionally trained staff also assist in accessing more suitable long-term accommodation for each of the residents. Tús Nua aims to provide time and space during which women can address the problems which led to their housing crisis and prison sentence.

9 Veronica was 28 on joining, from Bassano del Grappa, near Venice in Italy. She holds a Master s degree in Law, and had completed an internship in Civil Rights Law at a firm in Italy; she was particularly interested in the Criminal Justice aspect of Depaul s service provision. Veronica was chosen specifically for her disposition and ability to bring a new dimension to her chosen service, Tús Nua. This service is located somewhat outside of Dublin city centre, and thus Veronica needed to be organised and disciplined in her approach and attendance. Her time management was developed and was an asset to her in her role. She also developed valuable life skills, in tandem with the service users. Shopping, budgeting, cooking, household management, hygiene, personal care, selfcare and reflection are some of the skills that Veronica heightened in herself, while assisting the service users. Volunteering at this service can be challenging due to its nature; the residents may have complex needs. That said, the service can be very quiet at certain points during the day, since the women often have jobs, or are studying, or simply want to keep to their own rooms. Veronica utilised this to her advantage however; she used the quieter times to plan and prepare for activities that could be carried out at busier times. Veronica and Ruben having taken part in a fun-run Veronica and Mareike visiting the Volunteer Office She made good use of the communal areas, and found that food, tea and coffee were a good conduit to engagement and social interaction. Veronica used and developed her skills in social interaction and empathy to provide a warm, caring presence in the project, to whom the women were naturally drawn. She learned how to use hair and beauty as a means of lightening the lives of the women in the service, organising various pampering evenings. She stated that she was not a natural cook or baker when she arrived in Dublin, but that this was a key skill that she developed during her time on the EVS programme. She would fill the communal areas with the aroma of her cakes, biscuits and bread baking; very enticing to the residents. They would be tempted to join the group for a chat, and as time went by, Veronica even encouraged them to learn some baking skills themselves. For vulnerable adults lacking basic skills, this is a major development. This formed the basis of Veronica s major project, and resulted in a baking book that she complied for the service, to be left and handed over to the new EVS volunteer, the team and the residents.

10 EVALUATION: The EVS volunteers attended on-arrival and mid-way training sessions hosted by the National Agency, and Depaul held a final Reflection & Evaluation session in the last month of the placement. This was a meeting of volunteers, staff and management to examine the key themes of the project, to allow each volunteer to consider how his or her project had promoted these themes and to present the major project and results of their placement. The volunteers delivered daily activities supporting the social engagement within their host service. They were also supported to develop their own individual projects. This included a video around healthcare, a baking project, social and life skills development and engagement with the local community via promotions (Colleges, Intergenerational groups and Erasmus+ events) to promote EVS. Health and Well-being was constantly promoted via cookery activities, health discussions, yoga for physical & mental well-being, trips out walking and support to engage with healthcare. Volunteer activities were recorded daily against service user support plans which showed far-reaching impact! Each volunteer was encouraged to think about their personal growth throughout their EVS experience as a key part of their YouthPass. For the final reflection, we started with a review of the year in total. The volunteers wrote their name and the activities they carried out on twelve large pieces of card, one for each month of the year they spent with us. These represented different aspects of their EVS, for example something good, something you enjoyed. It proved to be a great way of prompting the volunteers to think back and reflect upon the learning and experiences they had gained over the year. Each volunteer presented their thoughts and experiences to the group. Thinking about their future was also an important topic as it gave the opportunity for each volunteer to discuss what they were going to do post EVS. Themes were similar integration back home, work or study aspirations. Depaul s low threshold, harm reduction approaches in supporting homeless and disadvantaged people through holistic practice also had a big impact on the volunteers personal and skills development. They noted that EVS had opened their minds to new possibilities and made them brave. There was also an interest in supporting their Sending Organisations to promote Erasmus+ to other young people. WHAT THE VOLUNTEERS SAID: Francesco: My experience on the EVS programme was my first time living abroad. It has helped me to improve my language, and to become independent. Dublin is very multicultural, and it was good to learn to integrate with new cultures, adapt to a different society and learn to live with other people from around Europe. Veronica: It was wonderful to see participants get involved in projects that I have managed; it required patience and persistence at times, but I have developed many skills that will benefit me in the future.

11 Ruben: I learned more about three things working in Depaul as an EVS Volunteer: emotions, action and team. As a result, I could assimilate the values of the organisation, and I could internalise that everybody is important. Lara: I have gained a lot of knowledge and insights that have helped me to build on my previous experience. I have a greater sense of responsibility, and am more confident in planning my future. Mareike: I am very glad that I took part in EVS. It has been very beneficial to me, and has prepared me for my College studies, and for life after my studies. In particular, the training and information we received on arrival (from the host organisation and the national agency) was very good, very professional and very beneficial to me. Overall, this was a very successful programme for both Depaul and the volunteers, and we look forward to utilising the organisational learning gained from this experience, to future cohorts of volunteers under the European Solidarity Corps! Tea and cake very important at Depaul!