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Hope Family Commune
The commune includes Hope's main building complete with a cultural center, medical consultancy, home school, craft centers, gym and dining hall for vulnerable elderly and young people. The commune also runs temporary housing for the needy, as well as homeless children shelter for 12 kids, which is located at 10 Dvinskaya Street in St. Petersburg. Hope social rehabilitation center, located in the Karelian village of Tervu, is focused on developing skills in farming, construction, woodworking, sewing and pottery. It also includes a shelter for 24 people, and a summer camp for up to 30 kids. The commune helps social orphans and state orphanage graduates. These teenagers and young adults, aged 12 to 25, sustain themselves by working on a farm, learning to lead farmers life and acquiring necessary skills. Hope aims to help its graduates successfully integrate into society. Last year Hope lead 12 teenagers through the social rehabilitation course, and 18 teenagers through the short society integration course. During 10 years of its existence, Hope helped 36 orphans to graduate from the commune and lead independent productive life. More than 350 children attended the summer camp and participated in the commune development. Today's commune includes the following 12 students and volunteers. As the graduates of orphanages are taking their first steps in their independent life, it is up to us, the adults, to influence what kind of steps those will become. "This grass roots organization has saved from trouble and educated fifteen graduates of orphanages so far, teaching them labor skills and making them wholesome society members," said St. Petersburg Governor Mr. Yakovlev. Hope celebrated its 10th anniversary on May 25, 2003. This event was included as part of St. Petersburg's celebration of 300 years.Thank you letter Public organization Family Commune Hope expresses deepest gratitude to the Ascent Russian Orphan Aid Foundation and personally to its president Kirill Bogouslavski for ongoing support of our projects directed to the social rehabilitation and adaptation of disadvantaged orphans and homeless children of St. Petersburg and Karelia. The foundation is currently raising funds to help our basic needs including food, transportation, electricity and infrastructure. Such support is very needed for non-profits like ours that have no governmental support and operating solely due to the effort of enthusiasts and volunteers. During our meeting in St. Petersburg in May of this year, Kirill took our problems to heart and studied carefully all our foundation documents and children's programs manuals. Let us hope for further development of programs that help orphans in crisis and post-crisis situations. With respect and Hope, President of Executive Committee, Chief of Family Commune Hope, Evgeniy A. Kliot Project "Warmth of the Heart" The target group addressed by the "Warmth of the Heart" project includes teenagers suffering from social disadaptation, young orphan adults and social orphans who have found themselves in difficult life situations. Over the last 10 years Russia has been implementing reforms. It became evident that there is a burning issue of providing housing and employment for graduates of state orphanages and family-type boarding schools. To solve the employment problem, orphans suffering from disadaptation need to go through a course of social rehabilitation. Having completed this course they will receive an additional education and acquire professional skills necessary for their future professions. State framework establishments are only partially solving this problem by helping young adults who have not reached a critical point yet. Therefore, the need for rehabilitation facilities for graduates of state orphanages who are in either pre-crisis or post-crisis conditions has become extremely acute. The mechanism of tight control over compliance with legislature addressing former residents of orphanages is not in place, which also exacerbates this critical situation as former orphans simply turn into bums. The fact that the crime and unemployment rates among these former residents of orphanages are growing serves as evidence that situation is critical. Due to the shortage of state rehabilitation facilities which can solve the problem the issue becomes extremely urgent. The important steps that need to be undertaken are the prevention of social orphanhood, children's homelessness, crimes and juvenile delinquency; social rehabilitation and social and legislative support for teenagers and young orphan adults as well as social orphans who have found themselves in difficult situations. The program provides for a course of social rehabilitation of orphanage graduates who are suffering from social disadaptation. The family commune "Nadezhda" ("Hope") is one of the examples. "Nadezda", whose purpose is to create a family environment for orphans, implements programs based on an individual approach. The course consists of diagnostics, correction and overcoming sociopathic traits of an individual by increasing his educational status as well as cultural and moral level. Involvement into work and leisure activities also help orphans successfully integrate into society and become useful and productive citizens. The name of our project, "Warmth of the Heart", comes from the fact that all its participants have warm and compassionate hearts. We try and solve problems of orphans when they need our support the most. No one else will solve their problems as they are entering an adult world. Media Coverage Support from Russian Government More Information in Russian |
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