Project Promoter: International Rescue Committee Hellas
Programme outcome the project contributes to: Improved quality of accommodation and other services provided in open reception centers
Project grant rate: 90%
Maximum project grant amount: 1,722,661 euros
The project of the International Rescue Committee provides accommodation for asylum-seeking unaccompanied children aged between 16 and 18, in 10 Supported Independent Living (SIL) apartments in Athens, Greece.
The project will provide quality accommodation and a holistic package of individualised support services to at least 120 unaccompanied children, over the course of 33 months. Each FUTURA apartment hosts four children who receive a range of services; legal aid, individual and group psychosocial support, non-formal education and skill-building activities, tailored to the needs of each child, by a core team of experienced social workers, caretakers and interpreters, with particular emphasis on empowerment and self-reliance. The staff and the children jointly create individual development plans aiming to achieve the children’s full potential in life.
The SIL apartments are considered as an alternative to the traditional institutional models of accommodation, with great potential to support children’s transition to independence and their integration into the local community. The project structure increases their chance of success outside of the institutional system.
The FUTURA team also aims to inform public entities, NGOs, and civil society groups on key project developments and good practices in child protection, through events, reports, and social media.
In October 2020, the IRC launched the FUTURA project via an online event, in which the advantages of accommodation in SILs, the need for and the importance of multi-sectoral cooperation and advocacy on unaccompanied children’s rights were highlighted by all participants, journalists, NGO staff and authorities included.
