LET THEM SEE WHAT “HOME“ IS

Help children in need and the whole society – support development of foster care.

WHY?

• The best prevention of sociopathological phenomena within a society is the healthy development of a child.
• The optimal environment for the harmonic and complex development of a child is a properly functional family.
• Approximately 1% of children in the Czech republic have no possibility to grow up in such a family.
• A smaller fraction of them (small, healthy children with biological parents’ approval) can be adopted.
• But majority of these children can only be consigned into foster care.
• On the contrary, number of applicants for foster care is smaller than applicants for adoption.

WHAT?

• The way out of the circle is maximum support of existing and motivation of prospective foster parents.
• In the Vysocina region this task is pursued by non-profit, civic association Foster families of Vysocina region by their following activities:
  1. Gatherings of foster parents aimed to mutual exchange of experience and encouragement
  2. Vocational lectures, therapeutic workshops and discussions on substitute parent care
  3. Standard psychological, social and legal counseling
  4. Professional supervision in families and crisis intervention (24hour phone line, visits, VTI)
  5. Volunteer assistance in families (tutorage, day-care)
  6. Financial and material support (for remodeling allowing acceptance of an additional child, temporary financial relief, mediation of secondhand toys, household and sport equipment etc.)
  7. Improving public awareness by means of promotional and informational material, public events, cooperation with the media etc.
  8. Seeking new applicants for foster care
  9. Professional training and assessment of applicants for substitute parent care

HOW?

• by contribution to account number 247830604 / 0300
• by a material gift covering needs presented on www.pestvys.cz or offered ibid
• by providing free of charge services
• by granting a discount for a product or service
• by voluntary work in families, on fundraising activities or during events held by the association

A few extra ideas:

• Universal consulting offices are not well acquainted with questions of substitute parent care and can not distinguish specific problems related to SPC and problems caused by other reasons (a good deal of foster parents had their children examined by more psychologists, had to narrate their story again and again and yet nobody helped them).
• A detail anamnesis is necessary for the future upbringing of a child. It allows responding to previous experiences of the child when problems occur, perhaps even work with them preventively.
• In familiar surroundings, both children and parents are more open and ready to cooperate.
• Families with more children have difficulties to travel to a specialized SPC center in Prague.
• Often it is necessary to solve a situation or problems immediately and there is nowhere to turn to.
• During gatherings of foster families, the parents can experience their children in a different environment and relationships and thus get a completely new view on them.
• The children realize that their situation is not so unusual, that many children live in substitute families. At the same time they see their parents communicate with specialists and this might encourage them in the future to seek expert assistance themselves, if needed.

We will highly appreciate any help or contribution you may provide. We will place your name (event. hypertext link) among our donors on our website and can give you a written confirmation of sponsorship, if needed.

THANK YOU.