EXELIXI ZOIS in the context of providing support services to children living in closed child protection structures organized and implemented live and remote educational workshops for the staff of the Women’s Home of Paleo Faliro “Agios Alexandros”.
The philosophy behind the workshops is to improve the living conditions of children within the structures and one of the ways this can be achieved is to provide ongoing training and support to staff working directly with children.
The agenda of the action plan concerns the Introduction to the specifics of the framework with emphasis on the emotional and behavioral difficulties of the beneficiaries who need increased support from specifically trained staff and the Brief Description of the general operation of the closed child protection structures.
At this stage, participants were asked to provide personal experiences and problems they have encountered, to list their management methods and their outcome. The process is complex and participatory. ‘teaching’ from the teacher’s desk is not followed. The staff is the bearer of experiences and perceptions that in turn will process the information and experience for the benefit of the beneficiaries.
Specifically, from November 2019 to May 2020, workshops were held on the following topics: Abuse, Rights, Reinforcement, Feedback, Employee Relations & Communication (Part A and B), Special Rights of Children Living in Institutions, The Age of Involvement for Adults and Children, Return to Normalcy after Measurement, Daily Life Issues. At the end of each seminar there was Feedback and Evaluation by the participants.
The training workshop for the staff of hosting structures is part of the broader action of EXELIXI ZOIS supported by a founding donation from Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).
