Crisis intervention social services in marginalized communities
Social service is a certain form of professional activity, social assistance for citizens in an unfavorable social situation (MPSVR SR, Social services, 2020). The essence of this activity for families, individuals, or communities is prevention, solution, mitigation in various adverse social situations. To enable an independent, full-value life for each individual, to provide him with basic life needs, to prevent him from being socially excluded from society and also to provide care for a child where a negative situation in the family requires it (Slovensko.sk, 2016).
Adverse social situation is "endangering a physical person with social exclusion or limiting his ability to integrate socially and solve his problems independently: a) due to the fact that he does not have the necessary conditions to satisfy basic life needs, b) for their lifestyle, way of life, addiction to addictive substances or addictive harmful activities, c) for endangering its development due to its disability, if it is a child under seven years of age, d) for severe disability or adverse health condition, e) due to the fact that she has reached the age necessary to be entitled to an old-age pension according to a special regulation1) (hereinafter referred to as "retirement age"), f) for the performance of care of a physical person with a severe disability, g) for being threatened by the behavior of other natural persons or, if she has become a victim of the behavior of other natural persons, or h) for remaining in a spatially segregated location with the presence of concentrated and generationally reproduced poverty, i) due to loss of housing or threat of loss of housing." (Act No. 448/2008 Coll., §2, paragraph 2).
Social services of crisis intervention1 are available to natural persons when dealing with various unsatisfactory, non-standard situations, e.g. in the area of eating, living, dressing, basic hygiene habits and others. These services are implemented through a crisis intervention field social service, a low-threshold day center, an integration center, a community center, a dormitory, a shelter, a halfway house, a low-threshold social service for children and families, and emergency housing facilities. Every single service for the client has its own specifics and it is up to the client to choose which one to choose. His choice of a better alternative, form or e.g. housing, activities helps him to social integration (MPSVR SR, 2021). A crisis situation is a period during which a person's safety or life is immediately threatened or disturbed. The negative consequences that accompany every crisis are of a diverse nature. They bring destabilization in the psychological, but also in the social sphere, fear and helplessness. In accordance with the legislation of the Slovak Republic, in accordance with the current legal status, crisis intervention in the existing system of social assistance in Slovakia fulfills two main tasks - to solve the acute crisis situation of an individual of a group or community, in the framework of securing not only their needs, but also to inform them about the claims that arise from the legal norms governing the system of social protection, the provision of social services and social prevention, social assistance benefits, and to help citizens in material and, above all, in social need. (Šrobárová, 2019).
In the case of any intervention, the principles must be respected:
- a citizen must have the right to solve his own problem, based on his knowledge, abilities and possibilities,
- respect the citizen with his positive and negative sides, trust him, and give him the opportunity to make changes in his life based on his own actions,
- observe discretion, and the citizen must have the right to look into his file documentation, the file of the recipient of social services,
- apply new information and knowledge from the field of social work, methods of social work, for the benefit of the citizen (DSS Integra, 2021).
Field social service of crisis intervention in marginalized communities
Crisis intervention social services are provided to natural persons who have found themselves in various unfavorable situations, such as: loss of housing, unsatisfactory living conditions, domestic violence, loss of employment, etc., through field social crisis intervention services, low-threshold day centers, integration centers, community centers, shelters, shelters, half-way homes, low-threshold social services for children and families, and facilities emergency housing (MPSVR SR, 2021).
Provision of social services in facilities
Low-threshold day care center – serves to provide professional help and social counseling to residents so that they are provided with situations and conditions of basic life needs, or to residents in an unfavorable social situation, but also to those who do not have their life habits. Furthermore, it provides assistance in exercising rights and legally protected interests. Help is also provided to residents who have been addicted to addictive substances or addictive harmful activities, or who do not have the ability to integrate socially and solve their problems independently, as well as an individual or a group of residents who remain in a spatially segregated location with the presence of concentrated and generationally reproduced poverty. In addition to other aid activities, the conditions for the preparation, distribution of food or distribution of food are created here (IA MPSVR SR, 2021).
Low-threshold social service for children and family - provides professional help, social counseling, integration into society to persons and their families, so that they can independently solve their problems in an unfavorable social situation, which they do not have because of their life habits, way of life, addiction to addictive substances or addictive harmful activities (IA MPSVR SR, 2021).
The community center institution is focused on creating communities and community relations within its territory. The community center implements all mandatory activities according to Act 448/2008 Coll. on social services in the community center for a natural person in an unfavorable social situation according to § 2 par. 2 letters h) of the Act on Social Services. From the provision of social counseling, assistance in exercising rights and interests protected by law, social and educational services in the form of preschool clubs, early care programs, clubs for parents and children, tutoring, tutoring and mentoring for children and youth, and career counseling. It implements various preventive and interest programs such as leisure activities and interest groups.
Children and youth have the opportunity to visit low-threshold clubs. Community centers did not forget to implement formal or informal educational courses, trainings, intercultural activities and create space for volunteering. At the same time, they provide assistance to municipalities and other institutions, interest activities (Miková, Pauliová, 2001). The implementation of community centers provides space for community development, community rehabilitation, community work, as well as the provision of services and the performance of social protection and social guardianship, mutual interaction with other residents of the village. Social services are also provided in other facilities, such as an integration center, a dormitory, a shelter, a halfway house, and an emergency housing facility. Classification of social work: case, group and community (Schuringa, 2007).
Provision of crisis intervention social services during a pandemic situation
Covid-19 is an infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. In December 2019, this disease was identified for the first time in the Chinese city of Wuhan in patients with severe respiratory disease. The most affected area of Covid-19 is the respiratory system, in severe cases it causes severe pneumonia and can even lead to the death of the patient. The virus is quickly transmitted through secretion droplets when coughing, sneezing, but also when talking. It endangers persons who are in close or prolonged contact with the infected person. The viral disease is also transmitted by contaminated objects. In the case of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is a threat to public health II. degree, and therefore the government of the Slovak Republic has declared a state of emergency in the entire territory of the Slovak Republic with effect from March 12, 2020 from 6:00 a.m. and it continues. The Government of the Slovak Republic declared a state of emergency and it began to apply on March 16, 2020 from 6:00 a.m. for state providers of institutional health care. On the basis of the developing situation, the state of emergency gradually extended to the private sector of providing institutional health care as well as to the field of nursing care in social services (MIRRI SR, 2021). From Monday, February 8, 2021, the COVID automat2 starts and the state of emergency is extended by 40 days in the entire territory of Slovakia.
In this situation, segregated localities, with a high concentration of inhabitants living in poverty and inadequate living conditions, become a specific risk group within the framework of prevention and protection of the population against the spread of the coronavirus, because there are more factors that threaten these groups, such as e.g. insufficient hygienic conditions, including access to drinking water, impaired access to health services, ignorance, incorrect personal hygiene habits, poor health status, including untreated and chronic diseases, population density. Another factor here is the increased return of MRK citizens home from abroad, and thus the risk of transmission of the Covid 19 disease increases (ÚVZ SR, 2021).
Activities implemented by the Community Center, Low Threshold Day Center, Low Threshold Social Services for Children and Family during an emergency
As part of the National Project Community Services in Marginalized Roma Communities, it is necessary and necessary to provide assistance to the maximum extent in connection with the current epidemiological situation in the Slovak Republic, while simultaneously respecting the measures of the relevant public authorities. Even during a state of emergency, the service providers Community Center, Low Threshold Day Center, Low Threshold Social Services for Children and Family provide social services under the conditions of compliance with current government regulations, guidelines, recommendations and methodological instructions of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic: https://www.employment.gov.sk/sk/koronavirus-pracovna-socialna-oblast/socialne-luzby/), measures issued by the ÚVZ SR, the chief hygienist of the SR, the relevant RÚVZ SR and other authorized bodies. Here we want to emphasize that intervention, as an active activity with clients, is very important, although on the one hand there is a risk of health, illness, but on the other hand there is a mutual relationship of closely connected factors that have an impact on entire families and communities. As part of the interventions, their social community workers provide updated information through available means and available information channels and calm the whole situation (MV SR, 2021). Individual job positions and their contents are adapted to the currently valid measures and restrictions. The activities that the employees of the Community Center, the Low Threshold Day Center, the Low Threshold Social Service for Children and the Family determine must meet the legislative conditions of Act No. 448/2008 Coll. on social services as amended, where in §6 par. 2 states: "A natural person has the right to the provision of a social service, which, by its scope, form and method of provision, enables the realization of his basic human rights and freedoms, preserves his human dignity, activates him to strengthen self-sufficiency, prevents his social exclusion and supports his inclusion in society (In MV SR, 2021)."
The main activities are the support of human resources, professional advice and the provision of assistance, through crisis advisory teams, activity in the areas of food and diet security, hygiene and sanitation, health protection and quarantine communication, mediation and support. Educational activities, or supervision of an individual or group nature, as part of the National Project Community Services in Marginalized Roma Communities, were canceled during the emergency situation related to the Covid-19 disease. Control of the performance of service providers through regional coordinators, as part of the National Community Services Project, takes place through the regional coordinator, by phone and email, at least once or more times a month, and keeps records at the local and/or regional level, reports important information and facts to the relevant regional coordinator without delay, e.g. incidence of employee illness, worsening local epidemiological situation, preventive measures, etc. (Ministry of the Slovak Republic, 2021).
Conclusion
The provision of social crisis intervention services in marginalized communities is financed from the European Structural Funds, as part of national projects implemented by the Office of the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Roma Communities and the Implementation Agency of the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Family.
Community centers currently provide residents of municipalities with opportunities for various activities of interest, forms of informal education, free time programs for children, youth and adults, support for community organizing, counseling and assistance in the area of housing, interpersonal relations, community rehabilitation, but also preventive activities. These activities are beneficial in the field of employment and social adaptation in municipalities with the presence of marginalized Roma communities. The development of professional, community competences in the field of education and supervision is ensured for community workers. Planned activities within the National Community Services Project were categorized into two areas, main and supporting: the main area consisted of increasing addressability, the sum of services that community centers enable, the development and quality of the performance of community workers. The support area consists of the implementation and development of personnel capacities, the actual operation of community centers and the overall performance of community work (Ministry of the Slovak Republic, 2021). National project Community services in cities and towns with the presence of marginalized Roma communities - II. The phase, which was created thanks to support from the European Social Fund within the Human Resources Operational Program "National Project Community Services in Cities and Towns with the Presence of Marginalized Roma Communities - Phase II" is a continuation of the previous National Project Community Centers in Marginalized Roma Communities. The place of implementation is the regions - Banskobystrický region, Nitra region, Trnava region, Trenčín region, Žilina region, Prešovský region, Košice region, except Bratislava region. The project is implemented in the period from November 2019 to February 2022. The specific goal is identical to the goal of the previous project: to increase financial literacy, employability and employment of marginalized communities, especially Roma. The main goal of this project is "to support the development of providers of three crisis intervention social services, who will provide accessible, standardized professional activities, other activities and activities implemented in the area of supporting the social inclusion of persons in an unfavorable social situation with an emphasis on marginalized Roma communities, at risk of social exclusion or with a limited ability to integrate socially and solve their problems independently." (Ministry of the Slovak Republic, 2021). The project also includes assistance to residents through the social services of crisis intervention Community Center, Low Threshold Day Center or Low Threshold Social Service for Children and Family in 180 municipalities and all districts of the city of Košice. It is expected that 20,000 residents from marginalized Roma communities will be supported through social services. The aim of the project is to raise awareness of social crisis intervention services and improve the performance of Community Centers, Low Threshold Day Centers and Low Threshold Social Services for Children and Families.
Partial activities are: 1. revitalize methodical procedures, harmonize methodical management, 2. to help Community Centers, Low Threshold Day Centers, Low Threshold Social Services for Children and Family, 3. create new capacities, improve the quality of community social work, 4. monitor project activities.
The aim of the set of activities is to improve the social situation of socially excluded groups or those at risk of social exclusion, with an emphasis on marginalized Roma communities, with the help of their expended energy, an increase in the overall level of activities and the development of the participating entities themselves, an increase in and opportunities for better access to the labor market and integration into society of employed citizens (Ministry of the Slovak Republic, 2021).
If we join forces through community work, the whole community cooperates and shows solidarity towards fellow citizens, this is the highest goal of community work. We realized that only now in this pandemic period have we understood the vulnerability of segregated settlements. The spread of the virus in an environment of extreme poverty is a ticking time bomb for the entire society. Everyday reality shows us the unresolved situation in these locations for years. Through crisis intervention social services, we cannot provide basic hygiene measures for all residents of marginalized Roma communities without decent housing for people, without access to drinking water, etc. The daily work of the helping professions in the localities is proof that we have never done more community work since the beginning of the operation of the Community Centers than during the pandemic.
Author: Mgr. Lídia Mirgová
List of bibliographic references
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1 The meaning of the term intervention in our case focuses on interfering, influencing, protecting the citizen. In the field of social work, this involves intervention in the behavior of individuals, groups or, possibly, the actions of institutions. For the citizen, this means psychological and practical support. 2 Alert system for monitoring the development of the epidemic and taking anti-epidemic measures depending on the intensity of the spread of SARSCoV-2 (Covid-19).