Lowering the threshold for youth

In order to address the needs of the children and young people within the context of their home communities a program called “Lowering the threshold for youth” has been designed and it is now being implemented in a national level. The philosophy of the project was to involve youth organizations into resolution of problems of disadvantaged youngsters, create partnerships at local level that would support initiatives launched within the project and provide tools for the youngsters to gain access to needed services and support them in self-help initiatives. The project consists of the creation of low threshold youth centres, located in a specific community, providing a combination of interesting free time activities adjoined to professional social services and counselling with emphasis on prevention.
The services are designed with the aim to eliminate all obstacles usually preventing access of young people to necessary services.
The short-term goal of the project was to address specific needs of vulnerable youngsters, create a safe environment where their needs can be met in ways acceptable to them and improve the community based youth work. The long-term goals included the introduction of an innovative crime prevention programme that could be adjusted to the needs of marginalized communities with very specific needs and would carry the potential for crime prevention, activation of potential carried by young people and improvement of the general situation in these susceptible communities.
The concrete results include a significant decrease in school-dropouts among the clients of the centres and in the number of conflicts generated by the youngsters that had to be deal with by the police. Also, the number of children falling victim to crime has been successfully decreased among the clients of the centres.
Especially in socially secluded areas they managed to provide a much-needed alternative to the reality of apathy and crime. The direct participation of service recipients on the resolution of their problems, involvement of strategic public-private partnerships and direct intervention delivered within the context of individual communities have proven to be the components of a successful crime prevention strategy and the design of accessible social services. Currently, the centres serve an estimated 2,7 thousand children in several excluded and marginalised communities, including Roma settlements and urban "ghettoes".

The objective of the program was the decrease in school-dropouts and in the number of conflicts generated by the youngsters that had to be dealt with by the police. Also, decrease the number of children falling victim to crime. The centres offer a safe space, where these children and young people can spend their free time in accordance with their wishes, form meaningful and safe relationships to peers and adults, gain social and life skills but also receive high quality social services administered free of charge, in the context of relationships and in a supporting environment.

Grant programme launched by the Slovak Youth Foundation providing long-term support, with emphasis on progress towards financial independence and sustainability of services of the individual centres. Involvement of communities and local partners. Informational campaign. Legislative changes for the centres to gain access to funds from the state budget.

The general attributes of the philosophy and its implementation mechanisms make the programme prone to replication in any given community. The replication of the philosophy is based on the consideration of how to increase accessibility of services to those young people unable or unwilling to use the currently available support.

The programme received international recognition at the European Crime Prevention Network conference in Hague, where it was named the Most Promising European prevention programme of the year 2004. Continuous monitoring by the Slovak Youth Foundation (SYF).

Local support networks, community involvement, local NGOs, as well as:
- The Slovak Youth Foundation
- Slovak Ministry of Education

n/a

“Lowering the threshold for youth in Slovakia”, Slovak Youth Foundation, accessed July 2017.
http://pjp-eu.coe.int/documents/1017981/1663178/Lowering_the_threshold_fo.pdf/e12fbfb4-57cd-49af-aae1-14ba350edd5b?version=1.0

http://eucpn.org/document/lowering-threshold-youth

The concrete results of this programme include a significant decrease in school-dropouts among the clients of the centres and in the number of conflicts generated by the youngsters that had to be deal with by the police. Also, the number of children falling victim to crime has been successfully decreased among the visitors of the centres.
The activities and outputs of the practice are fully consistent with the overall goal and the attainment of its objectives. in socially secluded areas they managed to provide a much-needed alternative to the reality of apathy and crime. The direct participation of service recipients on the resolution of their problems, involvement of strategic public-private partnerships and direct intervention delivered within the context of individual communities have proven to be the components of a successful crime prevention strategy and the design of accessible social services. Currently, the centres serve an estimated 2,700 children in several excluded and marginalised communities, including Roma settlements and urban "ghettos".

The centres offer a safe space, where these children and young people can spend their free time in accordance with their wishes, form meaningful and safe relationships to peers and adults, gain social and life skills but also receive high quality social services administered free of charge, in the context of relationships and in a supporting environment. In some case these centres naturally became community centres, now providing services not only to youngsters but to entire generations of inhabitants, expanding their service portfolio to life skill training for long-term unemployed adults, social services to victims of domestic violence and others based on demand.

The programme was funded through the EU scheme for the development of human resources but strategic partnerships have been formed in the course of programme implementation, mainly among local self-government and government institutions, NGOs and social service providers, which contribute to the further development and long-term sustainability of youth services in marginalised communities.

The programme resulted in a significant decrease in school-dropouts among the clients of the centres and in the number of conflicts generated by the youngsters that had to be deal with by the police. Also, the number of children falling victim to crime has been successfully decreased among the young members of the centres. The programme has brought public attention to the problems of young people in vulnerable communities and initiated a public discussion about the general availability and potential benefits of accessible youth services in Slovak cities and communities.
The centres naturally provide a meeting place for generations, thus encouraging inter-generational dialogue.

The emphasis placed within the framework of this programme on institutional development and professionalization of youth services has contributed to local NGOs capacity building and upgrading of their youth services. New full time jobs for youth workers have been created, which will inevitably strengthen the institutional capacity of their home organisations. The involvement of communities and local partners from various sectors have contributed to community empowerment, information flow and strengthening of support networks and relationships.
The SYF as the donor gradually raised expectations of the individual recipients in terms of quality of provided services and their professional delivery while providing opportunities for long-term education for the staff of the centres, which lead to an increase in the standard of provided services, provided tools for the prevention of the "burn-out syndrome" that is often threatening youth workers working in a demanding environment and encouraged organisations to challenge their visions and engage in strategic planning of their further development.
The programme has a defined framework, which enables successful youth service providers to re-apply for financial assistance. The centres are being monitored and supported for several years, while receiving tools meant to help them reach financial independence.

The involvement of self-governments has proven to be a successful scheme of networking, as some of the centres have been "adopted" by these institutions and supported in various forms. As the support of self-governments is crucial for their long-term sustainability, the establishment of direct relations and provision of financial support to the youth centres is a great achievement.