Thanks to the support of the European Union, a day-care was opened in Šabac where persons with mental disabilities and intellectual difficulties will be able to stay daily. The construction and furnishing of the day-care facility was co-financed by the European Union and the international Caritas network, while the city of Šabac provided the location for building the facility and helped arrange the parcel for this purpose.
The “St. Sofia” day-care for persons with mental disabilities and intellectual difficulties is the first of its kind in Serbia, opened on 31 August 2015 in Šabac. The ceremonial opening was attended by Nebojša Zelenović, mayor of Šabac, dr Nenad Ivanišević, state secretary, Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans’ and Social Affairs, Ana Milenić, programme manager, European Union Delegation to Serbia, Stanislav Hočevar, president of Caritas Serbia, representatives of Caritas Šabac, the local self-government, partner and other organizations.
The day-care was opened as part of the project “Support to the Prevention of Residential Housing of Persons with Intellectual and Mental Disabilities in the Mačvanski District by Developing the Services of Help in the Home and Day-Care in the Local Community” financed by the European Union with over 140,000 euros as part of the “Otvoreni zagrljaj” project, implemented by the partner Caritas Šabac, the City of Šabac and a consortium of social cooperatives from Italy C.O.S.M. The “Otvoreni zagrljaj” project is being implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans’ and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Serbia, with the overall goal of improving the social inclusion of persons with intellectual and mental disabilities.
Day-care is a social protection service from among the group of daily services in the community under the competence of local self-governments, provided to improve the quality of life for beneficiaries in their social environment through maintaining and developing social, psychological and physical functions and skills in order to maximize their capabilities for independent living.
Beneficiaries of the service are adults with mental disabilities and intellectual difficulties. The capacity of the day-care facility is 35 beneficiaries with provided transportation and meal. A multidisciplinary team is engaged in working with the beneficiaries at the day-care, composed of experts of various profiles, nurses, trained caregivers and volunteers. The day-care facility will be open workdays between 8 AM and 4 PM.
Source: europa.rs
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