At the end of November, Casa Ioana held its first meeting with a part of our NGO partners to discuss the objectives of the SOLACE-CEE project and how we can collaborate on the socio-medical services we will provide, and how these services can impact the lives of our clients.
One of the key objectives of the project is to set up a medical cabinet for homeless individuals. To this end, we visited our partner NGO in Romania, Samu Social, where we had an in-depth discussion about the socio-medical system in Romania, the challenges they face, the working hours for their staff, the needs of clients on the streets, the importance of mental health, and the legal strategies required to open such a shelter.
Furthermore, at the beginning of February, we held another meeting with additional NGO partners and public bodies to strengthen our collaboration system for the project. We presented the aims, objectives, and values of the project, with the goal of improving our collaboration to create a comprehensive intervention strategy to combat homelessness. We also aim to develop proper network activities with our NGO partners and public bodies. The focus of this meeting was on both local and international NGOs, as well as local municipalities and national government bodies. For example, participants included the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Samu Social, Queen Maria Social Polyclinic, the Municipality’s social services department, the Ministry of Labor and Social Justice, and the National Agency for Equal Opportunities.
At this moment, we are working over the data collection with the innovation team and we are looking at gathering qualitative data with experts through focus groups, with organizations who should be involved in activities such as networking activities of partners, and with potential clients.
Nicoleta Gontariu – Communication’s Coordinator Asociatia Casa Ioana