The second chance: challenges and perspectives in working with the homeless

Conference Notes

THE SECOND CHANCE:

challenges and perspectives in working with the homeless City Library of Zagreb Starčevićev trg 4 31. May 2012.

CONTENTS Foreword / 2 Programme / 3 Summaries / 5 Credits / 19 Sponsorship / 20

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Opening statement

The homeless people and libraries – most people cannot find a meaningful connection between these two. When they think of the homeless, they imagine people rummaging through garbage containers and begging for money on city streets. As for the libraries, they remind one of somewhat cold and formal places where books are borrowed in perfect silence. The social steretypes on both are quite prominent. By organizing a professional conference The Second Chance: challenges and perspectives in working with the homeless, we intend to show that the homeless are investing a considerable effort to move away from the margins of the society with the support of the Zagreb City Libraries that keep on including numerous organizations and individuals looking for adequate ways to empower the marginalized social group.

The official title of the conference, The Second Chance, symbolizes not only an opportunity for the homeless to be treated as an equal segment of the society but also the second chance for the society itself, that has blocked their strivings by pushing against them legal barriers and treating them inconsistently and inadequately.

It is our deepest hope that the conference will yield initiatives to start real change and progress in the field, through the exchange of knowledge, ideas and experience among the experts dealing with the issue.

Our gratitude goes to the international non-profit organization EIFL (Electronic Information for Libraries) that granted a donation of $15000 to the project A Book for a Roof: a network of libraries for empowering the homeless, for their inclusion into the job market. With the financial support, the EIFL team has, through its expert support and positive experience exchange, contributed to strengthening the idea that libraries too can actively participate in solving many problems on the local level.

The librarians’ contribution to solving the problem of homelessness is an inspiration for other professions to participate in the network of support.

We are thankful to all the expert conference participants who were ready and willing to share their knowledge and experience as well as those who expressed interest to get better acquainted with the social group most people would rather turn their backs on.

Sanja Bunić, A Book for a Roof project coordinator

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PROGRAMME 9:30 – 10:00 Registration 10:00 – 10:15 Welcome speech 10:15 – 10:30 What role does the science play in promoting a well-being of homeless people?

Olja Družić Ljubotina, Faculty of Legal Studies, Social Work Study Center 10:30 – 10:45 City of Zagreb – takes care of the homeless people Romana Galić, City Office for the social care and people with disability 10:45 – 11:00 Homeless peoplee and their rights in the social care system Štefica Karačić, Social care Centre in Zagreb 11:00 – 11:15 Problems and needs of the sheltered clients Zvonko Mlinar, The Red Cross, Zagreb 11:15 – 11:30 Discussion 11:30 – 12:15 Break 12:15 – 12:30 What can libraries do for the homeless people?

Sanja Bunić, Janja Maras, Zagreb City Libraries 12:30 – 12:45 Psycho-social support of homeless people during their reintegration into the working market: experiences, challenges and the lessons learned, Dragana Knezić, Stress and Trauma Rehabilitation Centre 3

12:45 – 13:00 Re-socialization of the homeless people - potential motivation issues Marina Majetić, Caritas of the Zagreb Archdiocese 13:15 – 13:30 Challenges with working with homeless people from the perspective of the volunteer centre learned lessons

Višnja Pavlović, Volunteer Centre Zagreb 13:30 – 13:45 The re-socialization methods practised at the homeless people Daily Centre Josip Kramar, The Street Companion Association 13:45 – 14:00 About the City of Zagreb Libraries project and the Law Clinic program of the Zagreb Law School Tanja Peraković, Lucija Čolak, Law Clinic of the Law School program at he University of Zagreb 14:00 – 14:30 Discussion and Conclusions

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SUMMARIES What role does the science play in promoting a well-being of homeless people?

Olja Družić Ljubotina University of Zagreb Faculty of Legal Studies Social Work Study Center olja_druzic@yahoo.com

Various professional texts define ‘homelessness’ in different ways, thus methodological questions of how to conduct a scientific research about the aforementioned phenomenon are a common problem. The fact is that there are numerous different answers to the question of who is and who is not a homeless person. Some authors even suggest that there are as many answers as there are research studies on the topic.

United Nations define homelessness in two different categories absolute and relative homelessness. Qualified for the absolute homelessness are those individuals or the families who have no place where they reside or are temporarily residing in a shelter. Relative homelessness includes inadequate living standards, such as inadequate protection from the natural disasters, no access to the drinkable water, lack of the personal safety, and no access to the education or employment.

The novelty in the Croatian Social Care Legislatures is the recognition of the homeless people as the separate category subsidized by the Croatian social care system. Those legislatures define a homeless person as “the one who has no place of residency and no material resources which could cover the living expenses; thus the person has a temporary residence in a shelter or is residing in the public spaces or other places which ought not to be inhabited”.

There is a great number of the homelessness research conducted in the world, since the homelessness represents a problematic phenomenon on a world level for a long period of time. Croatia is facing a homelessness issue in a greater extent in the last 20 years; yet the homelessness researches are rarely conducted. Scientific research in the world show us that the risk factors for the emergence of the homelessness are the long lasting poverty, unemployment, single parenting, low level of education, alcohol, drug or gambling addiction, poor physical or mental health, poor social network, previous prison sentence, loss of the place of the residency, etc.

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A single Croatian scientific study of homelessness has come to the similar conclusions; on the top of that, the study revealed some of the common causes of the homelessness, such as childhood abuse or trauma, growing up in dysfunctional families, growing up at the social institutions, job loss and an inability to find a new job, financial problems, poor health, refugee status, loss of home due to the war, destroyed families after the divorce, death of the spouse, prison sentence or merely homelessness being a life choice.

About the homelessness, its aetiology and phenomenology we don’t know a lot, thus it is necessary to encourage the research on homelessness in Croatia. The lack of research and the factual support makes the establishment of an efficient social policy impossible, as well as the prevention and the intervention of the homelessness. In order to direct the research, the crucial challenge is to evoke the sensibility for the homelessness issue in the scientific and the professional community. At this point, scientists, professionals but also the law makers are not aware or interested in the homelessness issue.

OLJA DRUŽIĆ LJUBOTINA was born in the year 1970 in the city of Zagreb where she also finished the primary and the secondary education. She graduated from the Social Work Study Center from the Legal Studies faculty in Zagreb. Right after the graduation she was employed at the non-governmental organization in which she provided the psycho-social help and support to the children, youth and families affected by the war events in Croatia. She worked on the projects of help and support for the war victims and the social reconstruction of the community. Since the year 2000 she has been working for the social work office’s Study Center where she engages in the numerous research projects. She received her Ph.D. in the year 2009 on the topic of poverty, and currently holds the status of the docent. She is the implementer of the project “Social work in a group”, and in the year 2010 she started with a project “The poverty and the social work”.

Olja Družić Ljubotina attended numerous educational courses and is involved in the numerous projects as an educator. She is the member of the executive committee of the Zagreb Volunteer Center and the Psychological Support Society.

She has more than 20 scientific and professional works published.

City of Zagreb – takes care of the homeless people Romana Galić, univ. spec. act. soc.

City Office for the social care and people with disability romana.galic@zagreb.hr Definition of the homelessness differs among the different world’s regions and it depends on the geographical, social, economical characteristics of the specific area, as well as its traditional and cultural particularities.

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According to the Social Care Legislatures of the Republic of Croatia, homeless is the one who has no place of residency and no material resources which could cover the living expenses; thus the person has a temporary residence in a shelter or is residing in the public spaces or other places which ought not to be inhabited.

It must be mentioned that in the times of the global economic crisis the greater numbers of people are in risk of losing their homes due to the job loss and inability to find a new job, breakage of the family connections, disfunctional families (early institutionalization), addictions, mental disorders, yet for some homelessness is merely a life choice.

Thus it is necessary to take a look at the homelessness issue from the different aspects and in cooperation with different stakeholders.

In order to determine the numerical and the socio-demographic characteristics of the homeless population, the City of Zagreb conducted two distinct researches. The first research was conducted in 2002 in cooperation with the Social Care Centre and other institutions where homeless people are the users of the different services. The second research was conducted in 2008 by the City of Zagreb in cooperation with the shelters for the homeless people which were at the time operating in the City of Zagreb.

When it comes to the peoples’ well-being, we must say that today it is in great part determined by the personal capacities and skills, as well as the individual abilities of a person to face the everyday life situations.

The life circumstances of the homeless people usually include numerous problems and difficulties with which the person was not able to independently cope in the effective manner, thus they require the help and support.

“The second chance” is a big challenge for both the homeless person and the society, organizations, and even each one of us who are using our professional knowledge, abilities and interests to make the positive change.

The City of Zagreb work with the homeless population is directed towards the organizing the social care system which satisfies the fundamental needs of the homeless, and also encourage their social integration and the return to the independent living.

ROMANA GALIĆ is the assistant of the head of the City Office for the social care and people with disabilities in the City of Zagreb. She obtained her undergraduate degree from the Faculty of Legal Studies in Zagreb in the social work program, and the postgraduate degree from the Catholic Theology Faculty in Zagreb in the topic “Management of the non-governmental organizations and the social persuasion.” As a part of her professional experience she continuously educated herself, thus she obtained a broad knowledge in the area of the social protection. She is a member of the numerous working and the advice-giving institutions on both the national and the local level. She participated in the establishment of the professional programs and initiatives in the area of the social protection.

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Homeless people and their rights in the social care system Štefica Karačić Social care Centre in Zagreb steficakaracic@yahoo.com

Homeless people who have rights in relation to the social care and the subsidies are the people who live in the absolute poverty, are lacking family, neighbours’ or friends’ support, are completely socially marginalized, and are difficult to approach in terms of the professional guidance and change.

Due to the fact that the number of homeless people who are the users of the subsidies provided by the social care system is small, the question of the systematic protection of homeless people has been neglected.

The proof of that is the fact that the concept of homelessness was defined in the Social Care Legislative for the first time in the year 2011.

The aforementioned law regulates homeless people basic rights and offered social services. However, due to the numerous limitations, work with this social group is made more difficult and the expected results are modest. Despite the changes in the law regulations, everyday practice still faces the numerous difficulties when working with this especially vulnerable social group.

Limited resources of both the system and the homeless clients are a constant challenge to the professionals, as those are necessary for the major life changes; thus, in those circumstances professionals need to find the alternative ways to take care of homeless people.

Unfortunately, the economic crisis, lowering of the life standard, weakening of the social networks, and other social changes represent the risk actors of the growing poverty and social exclusion, which is followed by the growing numbers of homeless people. Thus, it is necessary to encourage the changes among the professionals and the system. The goal is to encourage the specific processes on the local level which would aim to establish and strengthen the social networks which could efficiently and systematically respond to the needs of people who require the professional help to achieve their social integration. ŠTEFICA KARAČIĆ, graduated as a social worker, is currently employed as the temporary headmaster of the Social Care Centre of Zagreb.Through the many years of the social work in the field of healthcare, and later in the field of the social care, she continuously engaged in the social protection programs for the people in risk of poverty and the social exclusion. As the president of the Croatian Social Workers Association, she carried out the numerous projects which aim to evoke sensibility and the efficiency of the social workers, and also other supporting institutions and public.

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That way, the rights and needs of the socially vulnerable clients, including the homeless and the extremely poor people, could be satisfied.

She was the member of the group which created the Social Care Legislature in the year 2011. The aforementioned law regulates the rights of homeless people within the social care system.

In cooperation with the different community services providers, she is directed towards the providing the greateropportunities for the social integration of homeless people.

Problems and needs of the sheltered clients Zvonko Mlinar The Red Cross, Zagreb zvonko.mlinar@crvenikriz-zg.hr The lecture will review the portfolio of the clients of the Red Cross homeless shelter in Velika Kosnica from the period of the December 15th 2010 till the May 5th 2012. Along with the gender and age data, the clients of the biggest Croatian shelter will also be described in terms of their socio-economical characteristics. The reasons for their temporary residence in the shelter will be mentioned, along with the obstacles which homeless people and professionals encounter when they try to resolve the homelessness issue. The numerous services which are provided by the shelter personally to the each individual, such as the admittance, nutrition, healthcare and social care, will be mentioned. Based on the professional experience, possible solutions and the next steps for the resolving the homelessness issues in Croatia will be mentioned.

ZVONKO MLINAR is the headmaster’s assistant at the Red Cross City Society. He is in charge of operating the work of the shelter for the homeless people. From the very beginnings of his work in the social care system (Social Care City Institute, Republic Social Care Fond, Ministry of Work and the Social Care), he has seen the homeless people having a status of the most vulnerable category within the social care system and he actively engaged in the resolving their problems and fulfilling their needs. After the concept of the homeless people has been outlawed from the Social Care Legislatures in the year 1991, he fought for the survival of, at the time, the sole homeless shelter in the Republic of Croatia by establishing a contract about the financing the overnight expenses at the Red Cross shelter.

He suggests the establishment of the shelters (in the form of residences and the overnight admittance), as the temporary solution until the adequate residence would be ensured.

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Permanent residence ought to be given to the homeless people who would fulfil the legally determined criteria for the permanent residence and are capable of working to sustain their independent living.

What can libraries do for the homeless people?

Sanja Bunić, Janja Maras Zagreb City Libraries

Homeless people and the libraries – most of the people don’t see the connection between the two terms. However, what connects the two is the principle of the right to equal access to the information, knowledge and the cultural goods. That principle represents the fundamental feature of the national libraries, which are a sort of a daily residence and a meeting point of many citizens; also a place where the numerous activities and programs take place for the citizens regardless of their age, gender, health, social or any other characteristic.

City of Zagreb Libraries (in further text referred to as CZL) had, in cooperation with the Volunteer Centre Zagreb and the Street Lights magazine, developed seven support programs for the homeless; those are: Information literacy workshops, Homeless volunteers in the libraries, Creative workshops for the homeless, occasional sales of the homeless people works and the Street Lights magazine, help with writing the articles for the Street Lights magazine, promotion of the programs for the homeless people, Bring along a Friend organized socialization of homeless people, library employees and clients.

The project A Book for a Roof, a network of libraries to support the homeless people, has been built upon the past experiences in those seven projects. CZL were the first in Croatia to get a $15,000 donation from the international non-profit organization EIFL - Electronic Information for Libraries, as a part of the project PLIP (Public Library Innovation Programme), in the employment promotion category. As a part of the project, the four computers and a printer had been installed at the Red Cross shelter in Velika Kosnica; the information literacy workshops conducted for the homeless people in Kosnica and the City Library, as well as the employment guidance workshops led by the psychologists of the Stress and Trauma Rehabilitation Centre. There have been numerous partnerships established with the purpose of a greater scale support for the homeless people, but also the networking of the greater number of people interested in fighting the homelessness issue. A great deal of attention is directed towards the conquering the stereotypes and prejudices the public has about the both, homeless people and the libraries, and also towards the opening of new possibilities of working with the homeless.

This presentation will give you a sense of the challenges librarians had encountered during the program execution, the ways they overcame the obstacles, and what are some of the future perspectives librarians see in working with the homeless people.

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SANJA BUNIĆ is a graduated sociologist and a librarian. Since the 1996 she has been employed at the City of Zagreb Libraries as a social sciences promoter. She is the coordinator of the 65 plus City of Zagreb Libraries’ project, which has been established for the elderly. After finishing the volunteers management education, she has become the volunteer coordinator. From the year 2010 she has been creating and establishing the Homeless people support programs within her institution. At the moment she is executing the project A Book for a Roof - network of the libraries for the support of homeless people. She has been lecturing about the experiences and the results of her work with the homeless people in the numerous librarian and the volunteer coordinators professional seminars, as well as the professional magazines.

JANJA MARAS started to write the cultural column of the weekly edition of the catholic magazine Council’s Voice when she was yet just a student. Since the year 2000 she has been working as a news reporter and an editor of the weekly show about the culture together with the Zlatko Mađar at the Family Radio. In the year 2003 she has been employed at the Media Service, radio news agency, where she worked as a news reporter and a news editor; whereas in the year 2010 she became an editor of the informative editorial board. She has been hosting and editing numerous news programs. She has even been honorary cooperating with the Croatian editorial board of the Deutsche Welle. Since the year 2011 she has been working as a promoter at the City of Zagreb Libraries where she is executing the promotion of the program A Book for a Roof - the network of libraries for the support of the homeless people.

Psycho-social support of homeless people during their reintegration into the working market: experiences, challenges and the lessons learned Dragana Knezić Stress and Trauma Rehabilitation Centre irct-zg@zg.htnet.hr

The Stress and Trauma Rehabilitation Centre, as a partner on a project A Book for a Roof: the network of libraries for the support of the homeless people, has been providing a psycho-social support during the reintegration process of homeless people into the job market. The main goals of this project are the self-esteem boost, job-seeking motivation, developing the frustration and stress tolerance, and the establishment of the sense of responsibility to integrate into the working market.

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The program includes the series of educational and practical workshops, which follow the informatics skills workshops, and also the personalized help and support. The workshops aim to activate homeless people, boost their job-seeking persistence, optimism and the social networks. The support is established upon the principles of the self-efficiency and the social-cognitive theory of the behaviour modification as explained by the Albert Bandura.

Thus far we have been working with the two different groups of homeless people at the two different locations: with the Red Cross shelter clients in Velika Kosnica and with the Zagreb Archdiocese Caritas clients in the City library; the experiences we had with the each group exhibited some differences. Both groups showed not to be inclined to the structured group work, especially when it comes to the sharing their past experiences, emotions, and thoughts, but also the motivation themed workshops. Moreover, it was necessary to adjust the work to the educational level of the clients, as well as to their habits and expectations. The difference between the two groups was seen in their motivation and the attendance frequency, since the clients who participated in the City library workshops exhibited the greater motivation, discipline and the cooperation. The assumption is that the latter group has already been selectively chosen since they decided on their own to participate in the library workshops.

Since the program worked the best with the younger clients who participated in the City library workshops, that way of work would be our suggestion for the future improvements in terms of the systematic interventional and rehabilitating measures. The greatest challenge we faced with the clients from the Kosnica was the weak attendance of the workshops, thus the permanence, which is needed for the establishment of the group trust and the cohesion has not been reached. We are of impression that the further encouragement of the structure and the routine in the daily activities of the clients sheltered in the organized residences would be of help in their re-socialization, integration to the programs of help, and finally integration to the work market. Another obstacle to the reintegration to the working market are the practical job seeking problems, such as the loss of the rights on shelter residence during the period of the temporary employment, as well as the low frustration tolerance.

The successful re-socialization and the reintegration programs ought to be directed towards the establishment of the social policies and practices which encourage the gradual establishment of the independence, the loss of need for the social care support, and the long-term personalized psycho-social support which aims to boost the frustration tolerance, persistence and the problem solving capacities.

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DRAGANA KNEZIĆ, psychologist and the rational-emotional-behavioural therapist. She works at the Stress and Trauma Rehabilitation Centre as the leader of the support program aimed towards the empowerment and the support of the socially fostered youth who are just entering the work market.

Her professional experience includes the profession and carrier guidance and counselling, human resources coordination, and the execution of the different programs and projects with a goal of boosting the employment rates and the competencies of the different socially endangered and at the long-term unemployment risk social groups. Professional interests: application of the cognitive-behavioural counselling to reach the personal and the professional growth of a person, the development of their personal and the organizational efficacy, psychological characteristics of the unemployed, people during the employment process and the work itself, protection and the mental health hygiene of the unemployed and the employed people whose mental health is at risk.

Re-socialization of the homeless people - potential motivation issues Marina Majetić Caritas of the Zagreb Archdiocese marinamajetic@yahoo.com Homeless people are one of the most vulnerable and marginalized social groups of today. With the new Social Care Legislation from the year 2011, the homeless people are, as a separate category, guaranteed specific social rights they didn’t have up until then. However, that is not enough. Some projects, such as A Book for a Roof, though, are working on the empowerment of the homeless people and are giving them a hope for the future which they see worth fighting for.

Caritas of the Zagreb Archdiocese since the year 2003 recognized the need to provide homeless people not just with a roof over their heads, but also the adequate care; thus the Care about the Homeless people project has been established. The shelter has a capacity of 40 beds, and in times of need, as it was during the last winter, the capacity rises to 50 beds. Clients are provided with the 24 hour residency, 3 meals per day, personal hygiene facilities, and help with the clothes and the shoes. Along with the adequate facilities, clients are provided with the professional help: psychosocial counselling, assistance with obtaining the necessary documentation, help with their health issues, guiding them to fulfil their rights, creation of the personalized plan. What I would stress out as especially valuable is that the clients themselves work on the maintenance of the facilities and the outdoors, they prepare meals, maintain the garden and are willingly engaged in the numerous charity projects through which they help to the other Caritas clients.

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We are in the partnership with the numerous parishes as well. Activities like this are a sort of a work therapy which help them to get used to the responsible living in the community, and it develops their sense of being useful to the community and the society.

With the beginning of this year we have engaged in the project A Book for a Roof, as we recognized it as a progression in the work with the homeless people. The feedback we received from the few homeless people who participated in the project was more than satisfactory. Individual work of volunteers with the each homeless person, comfortable atmosphere, the sense that somebody indeed cares and tries to understand their issues are valuable characteristics of the project. The space where the workshops are being held is motivational itself, and what is especially important is that the program is continuously being adjusted to the homeless people needs.

The final goal of our work with the homeless people we recognize to be the second chance because that is what the homeless people deserve.

Challenges are many since we are talking about the people who suffer numerous mental illnesses, many of whom are struggling with the addiction problems, especially the alcoholism, there are those who committed crimes, were involved in the family abuse, etc. Challenge might be much greater than it seems to be on the first hand. Homeless people find it difficult to get a job, often due to the lack of self-esteem, mental disorders, but also the criminal records. There is also an issue of residency registration, which prevents them from the fulfilment of their rights. Despite all the challenges, though, it is not impossible to provide them with a help when there are those people who have the will to fight for the rights of the homeless people; and, what is even more important, who are ready to encourage homeless people to build up the confidence in themselves and the trust in others.

MARIJANA MAJETIĆ is a graduate of Social Work from the Faculty of Law at Zagreb University.

She has been employed at the Caritas Zagreb Archdiocese since 2009. She has worked at several Caritas houses as a trainee (The house for children without adequate parental care, Social Services - Section for Assistance). She is currently employed as a social worker in two Caritas houses - The house for homeless people in Rakitija and The house for victims of domestic violence. She is studying reality therapy and choice therapy which she undertakes in The Association of Reality Therapy in Croatia.She is an professional employee of the Club for Ex-Alcoholics My Way.

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Challenges with working with the homeless people from the perspective of the volunteer centre - learned lessons Višnja Pavlović Volunteer Centre Zagreb zvs@vcz.hr The purpose of the lecture: Introduce the participants with the volunteers’ experiences in their work with the homeless people and with the lessons learned. One of the prime roles of the volunteer centres is the promotion of the volunteering as the voluntary citizens’ aims to invest their time, efforts and knowledge for the benefits of the society or the other person. With that in mind, volunteer centres are, from time to time, organizing volunteer actions and the independent volunteer programs. In the last three years, the Volunteer Centre Zagreb (VCZ) has organized numerous activities for the homeless people, and has established one long-term homeless people support program. The experience has shown that the work with the homeless people is the work of small steps and small goals. Considering the complexity of the homelessness problem and the helplessness of homeless people to change their situation without the adequate support, the experience has shown us that this is the process which requires a lot of time and patience.

What volunteers can do in their work with the homeless people is limited, just as their capacities and responsibilities are; however, at the same time, work of the volunteers is of the great value for the homeless people since they provide them with the things they usually lack the most: care, witnessing their problems and suffer, advocating their rights in the public and the support of the homeless people own capacities to self-advocate.

The challenge appears, in our society, even with the inclusion of the volunteers and the professionals in the work with the homeless people, thus this lecture aims to provide you with some of the suggestions of how to, in a supportive manner, work with the homeless people, and in the same time establish the caring relationships.

VIŠNJA PAVLOVIĆ, in possession of the nostrificated pedagogy diploma. For more than three years she has been employed in the Volunteer Centre Zagreb as a coordinator of the Zagreb Voluntary Service. She has also coordinated volunteer program of support for the homeless people, and for the last two years she has been a volunteer herself on the programs of the individual support of a homeless person and the creative workshops. She is just finishing a 4 year education in the Gestalt psychotherapy.

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The re-socialization methods practised at the homeless people Daily Centre Josip Kramar The Street Companion Association josipkramar84@gmail.com

The Daily Centre is the voluntary based project of the Street Companion Association. The Centre is opened every Sunday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

In the Centre there are numerous activities offered to the homeless people, such as the daily residence, possibility to inform themselves, help with determining their social status, developing skills for the reintegration into the social life and the support for achieving the determined goals.

Program is based on encouraging the clients to take an active role in planning their own help and the self-help programs. Participants of the Daily Centre’s activities are those homeless people who are the active sellers of the Street Lights magazine, who wish to change their life situation and be active participants in their own reintegration process. All clients are obliged to respect the house rules of the Daily Centre. The goal of the program is to offer the homeless people a facility where they will feel accepted, where they will be on peace and sheltered away from the streets. At the same time, the time they spent there is used for finding the constructive solutions to their personal problems, and also fir the self-reflection through the socialization and the established personal and working relations with the volunteers and the professionals.

The Centre tries to gather the homeless people through different workshops and activities which are designed to fulfil the needs of people of different levels of motivation. We are aware of the fact that some people need more time to establish relations and adapt to our way of work. Moreover, we realize that the daily Centre remains out of reach to many due to the physical obstacles (travelling distance, small space, etc.), but also the symbolic obstacles (population passivity, distrust in institution, etc). Thus, to the certain number of the Zagreb homeless people, the participation in the Daily Centre activities is either difficult or even impossible.

At the Centre clients are able to warm up, talk to other clients, have lunch, talk to volunteers, professionals, they can watch TV, surf the internet, play board games, drink a coffee or a soda, read a book or a magazine. They can also gather different useful information. Moreover, if the Centre receives a donation, they can get new clothes and food; also, take care of the personal hygiene.

At the Centre we have meetings with the coordinator of the Street Lights magazine sales; and, at times, the meetings of the volunteers and the leader of the Centre.

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The Daily Centre professionals offer useful information about the shelters, public kitchens and the other programs offered to the homeless in the city of Zagreb. They also offer the spiritual support; help with the social status determination (obtaining the personal documentation, pensions, veteran rights, health insurance, Employment bureau application, social help application, etc.) We also offer help in apartment and the job search.

Professional assistance

Clients have an access to the hagiotherapist and the social worker who offer the counselling services, especially when the clients themselves ask for the individual assistance.

The goal of the personalized assistance is for the clients to become aware of their current life situation and to look at the possible realistic solutions to their problems with the assistance of the professionals. It follows that the therapist and the social worker are guiding homeless people towards the realization of the wanted changes. During the process, we try to develop the strongest skills and the homeless people social capital which is possible to be utilized and included (family, friends, organizations, education, persistence, etc.)

Workshops

The purpose of the different workshops (artistic, employment, etc) is to activate and motivate the clients to realize that they can still be successful and useful.

That way we are boosting their confidence, self-criticism and the critique of others.

JOSIP KRAMAR, born on 08/09/1984 in Maljine, municipality of Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the war times I arrived to Zagreb, thus I have been introduced to the refugees who soon became homeless in my early childhood.

However, as I grew older and started noticing the people around me, I have seen many homeless people even though it was a time of the peace, and that motivated me to help those people. When the Street Lights magazine has been introduced, I was one of the volunteers who recognized the value of that re-socialization program, thus I have started, together with the volunteer Kristina Ĺ ablja and the Volunteer Centre Zagreb, the distribution of the magazine in the city of Zagreb. At first I have also been a coordinator of the magazine distribution, now executed by the Margareta Vrban. The sale of the magazine has been in the same way executed in the Osijek and the VaraĹždin as well. I am one of the founders of the Street Companion Association where I have been elected a president. At the moment I am a leader of the Daily Centre which has been functioning for 2 years now at the volunteer basis.

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About the City of Zagreb Libraries project and the Law Clinic program of the Zagreb Law School Law Clinic of the Law School program at the University of Zagreb Tanja Peraković tajci_pe@yahoo.com Lucija Čolak lucija.colak@gmail.com The Law Clinic is the program run by the Law School program at the University of Zagreb through which students offer a free legal assistance to the citizens in need.

The program has been established in the fall of the 2010 when it has become a part of the Law School academic plan and the program. Through the Clinic students offer legal advices, create legal suggestions, and also help with writing the different statements and other documents needed for the legal or administrative disputes.

The partnership between the Law Clinic and the City of Zagreb Libraries began as the Libraries turned to the Clinic as a part of A Book for a Roof project. Part of the project became the need to resolve the clients’ legal issues.

Due to the fact that the Clinic is in partnership with the numerous organizations and the associations, students gladly accepted the challenge. Several meetings were held with the library stuff, professionals and the volunteers who worked with the homeless people on the project. At the meetings it was decided that, in the next few weeks, students will hold educational presentations about the homeless people rights and the ways of fulfilling them to the volunteers, and later the homeless people themselves. Thus, the students organized themselves in three groups, first one dealing with the Social care legislations’ rights, second with the residency issues, identification card and the health insurance, whereas the last one explained the war veterans’ rights and the free legal assistance.

On May 3rd at the Children and the youth section of the Zagreb City Library, students held the first lecture made out of the three different presentations for the volunteers and other people who work with the homeless people. Further activities in sight are the presentations and workshops for the homeless people which will happen in the next few weeks.

These educational activities aim to introduce the clients to their rights, to stress out the flaws of the system which the students encountered during the preparation and the presentation of the information, and finally to suggest some of the possible solutions to the system’s downturns. Some of the downturns which students encountered are: termination of the support assistance when the clients are in shelters or the social care institutions, residency application which has shown to be the fundamental issue which prevents clients from fulfilling all other rights, and the difficulties with obtaining the war veteran status.

As a part of the project, students received few cases from the clients, however new cases are continuing to arrive, thus their total number we will know at the end of the educational sessions.

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At this conference presenters will introduce the fundamental rights of homeless people and the legal suggestions about the ways of their fulfilment.

LUCIJA ČOLAK. I was born on February 22nd 1989 in Koprivnica. After finishing the Fran Galović high-school in Koprivnica, in the year 2007, I started the law school in Zagreb. At the moment I am at the final year in the undergraduate commercial law program. From this semester I have been volunteering for the Law Clinic established as a part of the Zagreb Law School with a goal of providing the free legal help. Within the Law Clinic I engaged in the work of the group which deals with the protection of the patients’ rights. I am also a member of the Law School student association Alimenta, which was established in the year 2010. The Association has organized a congress which took place from the May 7th to 9th of this year, on the topic Sports and the Law. During this academic year I am also a demonstrator at the Cathedra for the European Public Law. TANJA PERAKOVIĆ. I was born on August 20th 1988 in Karlovac. I have finished a General high-school in Karlovac, as well as the music high-school where I have graduated as a music theorist for piano and the organs. I entered the Law School of the University of Zagreb in the year 2007, and am currently on my final year of the international law program. I have gained some work experience through the practicum in the different legal offices, and from this semester I have been volunteering in the Law Clinic as a part of a patients’ rights protection group. I am the member of the Young Peace-makers club, which is a part of the Croatian Peacemaking Association. Through the Association I have participated in the numerous peace-making workshops. I have also participated in the 2nd international conference about the alternative ways of the conflict resolution, and also on the 2nd round table about the Healthcare system analysis, focused on e-healthcare.

I am the member of the Cultural Artists' Society Barilović and am organ player for the two churches.

IMPRESSUM Publisher: Zagreb City Libraries Starčevićev trg 6 10000 Zagreb For editor: Davorka Bastić Editor: Sanja Bunić Lector: Kristina Prusec Layout: Marija Grozdanić Print: ARS kopija Copies: 40

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