“SV. ARCHANGEL” Foundation is established in 2004 with f.d. №10815/2004 at SGS and EIK 131313656 by Angelina Ivanova who is also its manager. It was registered as a social services organisation, aiming at bringing benefits to the various strata of society. Its mission is to assist society and the country in its social and educational policies by offering support to people in need regardless of their age, sex, race or faith.
Since 2004 we offer social services such as “social assistant”,” household helper”, “caretaker”, etc., at the homes of the needy.
The Foundation has developed its own project and at present is looking for partners to help finance the building of a Social Institution – “HOME FOR ELDERY PEOPLE and HOSPICE”, a charity account has been opened for that purpose.
We have gained substantial experience in the social sphere and it has given us the confidence to apply for funding from the European projects. The projects are carried out with the financial support of the Operational Program “Development of human resources”, co-funded by the European Union through the European Social Fund.
In October 2009 the Foundation began implementation of the project “CHOOSE DIGNITY AND INDEPENDANCE” from the Operational Program “Development of human resources”, co-funded by the European Social Fund – phase 2. contract number BG051PO001-5.2.04-0150-C0001
At the beginning of November 2009 we started work on our second project “TO SUCCEED TOGETHER”, Contract number BG 051PО001-5.1.01-0112-С0001, involving training and establishing of a social enterprise for parent-less youngsters who have left the Social homes.
The project “CHOOSE DIGNITY AND INDEPENDANCE” offers support for social integration of the vulnerable through development of social services at home. Those services will support not only the affected groups of people but also the people involved in those activities. The project is developed in accordance with the main objective of the priority area “Social integration and encouragement of the social economy” – to support social integration of the vulnerable through the development of a network of social services. It also complies with the specific aim – to improve the quality of life of the vulnerable and their families by expanding the number of services offered in the community, by offering a wider variety of social services, by covering different objectives and needs. The project corresponds also to the main aspects of the program “social services for prevention and overcoming the consequences of social exclusion”. We expect part of the target group to be people who do not have an alternative except to be place in a specialized institution. The project created new positions and offered employment to long-term unemployed people, pensioners, students, parent-less people raised in social homes, medical workers, etc. They received introductory and follow-on training from specialised personnel and achieved excellent results in their work. This training also gave an opportunity to people raised in social institutions to transform their knowledge into practical profession.
High percentage of the people with disabilities and those who live alone in the area of Sofia city, have very limited social contacts and involvement. This isolation is difficult to overcome, it makes people feel lonely and useless. In addition, their health problems further limit their activity, sometimes even their freedom of movement, and in that way – makes it even more difficult for those people to look after themselves. Many believe that being placed in an institution is their only option. The main objective of this project is to meet the needs of a rising number of people in the capital and to offer them an alternative by providing the services of a “social assistant” and “household helper” under reasonable conditions.
Project’s target group:
- People living in Sofia with different types of long-term disabilities who cannot manage their social and everyday tasks, and who normally live in social isolation.
- Elderly people from Sofia who live alone and are unable to perform their everyday tasks, cannot keep an acceptable level of hygiene in their home, due to different medical reasons.
Project’s main objective:
To improve the quality of life for people with disabilities and those who have some restrictions due to health problems and live alone in the area of Sofia city, by offering social services at home, incouraging equal opportunities, social integration and independence as well as reducing the risk of their placement in socail institutions.
Our Foundation offers social services at home for bringing-up children, elderly people who live alone, people with disabilities as well as very ill people. We have a team of well educated stuff which offers full quality service in compliance with the law and with the specific needs and requirements of those people and their families.
The main objective of the second project “TO SUCCEED TOGETHER” is to improve the quality of life for people raised in social homes, who have left them and are currently living in temporary accommodation in Sofia city, through involvement in the newly-founded social enterprise by providing direct support for active inclusion in the social and economic life.
The project has the following specific objectives:
- to establish a social enterprise – a sawing workshop, on the territory of Sofia city, as an innovative form of social service – “a model of entrepreneurship, development and employment” for development and practice of social and work skills of the people from the target groups.
- To create the necessary conditions for identifying and developing the individual skills of the people from the risk groups by social consultations and training in a work environment.
- To create opportunities for active involvement of the people from the vulnerable groups into the social economy and improving the quality of their life by providing “secure employment” and helping with the transition to the real job market.
- To set up a stable model and good practice of social enterprise as part of the process of development of social entrepreneurship and social funds.
- To raise the public awareness in regard to the potentials of the social economy to create community initiatives and to promote the role of the European Social Fund for the implementation of this project.
In order to implement the project, ten consumers were chosen from the temporary accommodation centers. During the selection process we ensured that all forms of discrimination were avoided and that there were equal opportunities for both sexes.
In compliance with the law regarding the offering of social services (social entrepreneurship is seen as an innovative form of social service), the supplier signed contracts with the consumers for the use of the social services. The project is realised with the help of a monitoring system which controls the quality of the service.
The training and the consultations of the chosen people from the target groups are carried out in two main directions:
- Development of social and communicative skills, improvement of emotional condition, self-esteem, confidence, motivation for independent lifestyle. The people from the vulnerable groups usually have problems with their socially – emotional development. Without help in overcoming those problems, they are not going to build their motivation for developing working, professional skills which require discipline and involvement.
- Development and practice of general working skills in the dressmaking field in a real manufacturing environment, in order to acquire specific professional skills which will support their integration into the social economy and the transition to the real job market.
The project offers support for social involvement and creates basic working skills for people from the vulnerable groups – long-term unemployed, object to social care, including people with disabilities, people from minority ethnic groups, people who have left specialised institutions, through employment at the newly-founded social enterprise – suitable training, providing “secure employment”, helping with the transition to the real job market.
It is expected that the establishing of the social enterprise (as a entrepreneur model) will generate employment for the people from the vulnerable groups. People in a disadvantage situation will acquire basic social and working skills which will give them a real opportunity to prove themselves in the social economy sphere as well as on the real job market. The project will help to raise the level of the social capital and the development of the social enterprise. The project will have a lasting effect on the target groups, in accordance with the set objectives – this will be achieved through the high quality of the provided services and the continuity of the work of the social enterprise, it will guarantee the cooperation between the economic and the social policies in the context of employment.