ORION - Continuation of actions for the Prevention of Marginalization of Minors and Child Protection

At the Youth Support Center (YSC) of ARSIS (Spartis 9, near the French Institute) the program "ORION - Continuation of actions for the Prevention of Marginalization of Minors and Child Protection" is being implemented from 01/09/2023.

The program is addressed to children from very poor families of immigrants, refugees, unaccompanied minors, Roma children, children working on the street, and in general children and families facing serious problems and shortcomings in their daily life.

The services and actions provided are analyzed as follows:

1. Psychosocial support 

The Social Service operates daily from 9.30-17.30 and is structured in two parts, the Social Service within the YSC and the Mobile Unit of Social Intervention on the street (streetwork). 

The Social Service provides:  

Counseling and psychosocial support with the aim of exploring the needs of young people, motivating them to solve problems, and strengthening those elements of their personality that are important for the enhancement of their self-esteem and their subsequent personal and social development.  
School registration and school attendance monitoring of children and adolescents in cooperation with the school units and the children's parents or guardians.  
Liaison with other institutions, services, and programs.  
Provision of emergency items (food, clothing, toys, school supplies).  
Provision of household equipment to families in need in order to improve the environment in which children live.  
Support in accounting and tax matters

The second part (Streetwork) of the Social Service:  

- Identifies through street social work children and adolescents working on the street who are generally unreachable or unaware that they can access services. This service specifically aims to protect children who work on the street and/or are victims of trafficking or exploitation.  This service also responds to information from citizens who identify children and adolescents working on the street.  

-Visits deprived areas where refugee, migrant and Roma communities live and, in cooperation with local associations and through the Mobile School, approaches children in the neighborhood and then their families in order to inform them about the services provided at the YSC and to record requests, needs and problems related to the child's situation, with the aim of improving the child's living conditions. 

2. Education and Support for school integration and attendance  

The educational program normally includes:  

-Educational support that includes literacy classes, remedial teaching for students of all educational levels, science and STEAM classes, computer handling classes, etc.  

-Foreign language teaching    

-Experiential - non-formal education groups on issues of concern to young people    

- Creative workshops aimed at improving individual and social skills and the creative use of free time (music workshops, creative workshops for infants, workshops on human rights, workshops on construction and group play, cooking, pastry-making, etc.).

Sports activities in the context of strengthening inclusion to promote children's smooth adaptation, personality development, socialization, and participation in groups. 

3. Preparing and assisting integration into the labor market. The service is provided by the job counselor and concerns preparation for integration into education and promotion in employment, through individual vocational guidance, job search techniques, and support. 

4. Volunteering and internships. The Youth Support Centre uses the institution of volunteers in order to:  

- raising awareness of the local population through volunteer work with children and adolescents in need or at risk.  

- Bringing children, adolescents, and their families into contact with volunteers. Through volunteer work, contact between the target groups and the local population is achieved, which leads to their social integration.

- Supporting the services of the YSC through the offer of voluntary work. The largest number of volunteers who offer voluntary work in YSC are pedagogues, teachers, Greek and foreign language teachers, mathematicians, physicists, etc., as well as musicians, and people who through other activities can engage children creatively. 

5. Human Rights Education / Actions to raise awareness and activate the local community on the rights of the child. ARSIS assesses human rights education as one of the key pillars of awareness-raising and non-formal education. It has been designated since 2006 as the official translator and disseminator of Compass & Compasito, official manuals of the Council of Europe on human rights education for children and youth. The awareness-raising officer undertakes, in cooperation with school units in Thessaloniki, the organization of workshops for the promotion of human rights and the education of children in human rights. At the same time, he undertakes the organization of seminars for the training of primary and secondary school teachers in the use of the Compass & Compasito manuals.   

For more information and registration, you can contact the Youth Support Centre of ARSIS (Spartis 9, near the French Institute) from 09.30 to 17.30, at 00302310227311 and at kyn@arsis.gr