Children of ‘alcoholic’ parents are faced with many challenges. They need a great deal of support lest they buckle under and the vicious circle of intergenerational addiction and violence continues. Whatever the situation, family remains a key factor in determining the well-being of children, but government and community based services can play a supportive role.
In this project in Belarus, ICDI in partnership with the local organisation Healthy Choice, trained social workers that assist families at risk, and encouraged them to build on parents’ strengths in raising and caring for their children. We also worked with children, building up their life and social skills and assisting them in improving and sustaining the relationship with their parents.
The project laid the groundwork for improvements in the social protection system of Belarus to support vulnerable families and children.
Description
Objective
The Overall Objective was to strengthen the capacities of civil society organizations and Belorussian child protection services to support children and families at risk.
The project focused on the following Specific Objective: to safeguard and improve the well-being and healthy development of children of parents with alcohol addiction.
Results
As a result of this project, child welfare organizations have the know-how and capacity to support families with alcohol problems and their children (both living in social shelters and in families) and are able to implement local interventions and policies.
We worked with 100+ child care professionals, including: child welfare professionals and psychologists from governmental social-pedagogical centres, who are responsible for working with at risk families and child care specialists from state social shelters.
Another key result is that families at risk are strengthened and able to provide a safe environment for the healthy development of their children.
300 children at risk aged 3-15 years and 100 families with alcohol abuse benefited directly from the project.
ICDI’s role in the project was to provide training to local professionals in innovative concepts and approaches to support families and children. We were also responsible for overall project management.
