Open Youth Home Manager: We Can’t Save Everyone: Some Young People Have Too Many Injuries and Too Little Willingness to Dig

SOS Children’s Villages cares for youth who have lost parental care not only until they reach formal adulthood, but until family-unsupported wards stand up. The organization runs youth programs and has a youth home. Her goal is to help you prepare for an independent life and acquire the necessary skills.

“A young domestic worker should be all in one: from a psychologist to a real estate specialist. He is a person who supports you at every step and encourages you not to give up, to pursue your goals and dreams,” says Gražvydas Pavalkis , head of the SOS Children’s Villages Accompanying Care Unit.

Gražvydas has worked at SOS Children’s Villages for almost thirteen years. He never planned a career path to go to a nursing home. “I met here by chance: I wanted to change something in life and discover new experiences. Then I discovered that I was looking for a social worker at the Youth Home, which interested me and I came to talk. I had a stereotypical imagination of how homes look ordinary care: peeling tiles, dirty showers, dark and small spaces. At the SOS Youth House, it was just the opposite: bright, cozy, warm, like in a real home. They looked even better than a Lithuanian’s houses common at the time. “

More freedom, more responsibility

Participants in youth home programs are youth who have reached the age of eighteen or have decided to start living independently. Those who grew up in SOS children’s villages at the age of sixteen can move to Youth Homes, where they are preparing for an independent life, gradually gaining more and more freedom for this, demanding more and more responsibility for it. They help them get an education and establish themselves in the job market. Even after moving out of the Youth Home and moving to live independently, it is still possible to participate in youth programs designed to allow the youth to take care of themselves.

Gražvydas Pavalkis says residents of SOS children’s villages are prepared in advance and the relocation is slow. Also, if a young person does not want to live in a Youth Home, nobody is forcing him, the staff only provides advice.

“We listen to the needs of every young person. It is important to realize that there will be no success stories if the young person does not want to. We SOS Children’s Village staff and outside professionals can only open up opportunities and show what can be a way of life, encouraging ourselves to discover dreams and goals. The residents of SOS Children’s Villages have been preparing for the relocation for more than a month, and we talked a lot about the future life in the Casa de la Juventud, our expectations and their goals. The principle is very simple: our goal is to maintain a pattern similar to that of children when they lived with SOS mothers in small families. Before moving to the Youth Home, the young person meets an employee who will become his most important person in his new place of residence The connection to the mother, aunt and other SOS employees is not broken, but this is where the Youth Home employee will take care of him. erte in an intermediate stop where independence is strengthened ”.

When youth move into the Youth Home, they gain more freedom, but at the same time have new responsibilities. Initially, the young man, together with the SOS village leader, the SOS mother and the employee of the Youth House, discuss the expectations placed on him and review his goals. As of 2015, not only children raised in SOS Children’s Villages can live in the Youth Home and participate in the programs.
“Most young people now come from outside SOS Children’s Villages. Of course, even then the relocation process is much faster, because, for example, if a young person currently lives in a crisis center, we respond quickly and help here And now Of course, we have motivating conversations with all the young people, because we have to evaluate if we can really help him and make sure that he feels good in Youth Home, if this program is suitable for him, – says G. Pavalkis. that to participate in our programs or live in a Youth Home, a young person must show initiative. He has to study, then look for a job and gradually get used to living independently. Expectations are high: we strive so that everyone reaches their goals and not stop moving forward. “

Success is in the hands of the young people themselves.

According to the head of the companion care unit, it is important to understand that more than half of the work must be done by a young person. Employees can only encourage, push in the right direction, find the necessary specialists, but each has their own future.

“One of my challenges in this job is keeping young people motivated. Not only to complete studies or courses, but to set goals for yourself and not live alone until today. Another challenge is addiction. There are times when we first have to seek rehabilitation programs and the help of outside specialists, not studies or work. Only after treatment can we talk about the possibility of participating in youth programs or living in a Youth Home.

There are cases of the most diverse and even very complicated lives of the past. One of the most stagnant is the story of the then eleventh boy who came to us at that time. In a messy, dirty and neglected house, the boy lived with a mother and a grandmother with mental illnesses unable to care for him. Later he moved out of this house and was cared for by his grandfather. But there was a disaster: my grandfather suffered a stroke and did not survive. So the guy came into our Youth Home and the first thing we did was organize a grandfather’s funeral. Now, more than three years later, we have managed to create a future for this young man. He works successfully at one of the IT companies, communicates with psychologists, and gradually eliminates chronic injuries. This story only confirms the importance of the contribution of all SOS employees and external specialists, only by working every day and looking for the best solutions could we achieve what this guy has now. “

Gražvydas is open: helping a young person believe in a bright future and wanting to create a good life is definitely not an easy task. However, only working with each young person day by day can he or she be expected to continue pursuing established goals and become more and more independent.

“Another story about a boy who wanted to become an archaeologist. We have had many conversations with him about why he wants to choose precisely these studies, what motivates him, what future he sees. We wanted the young man to have a backup in addition to this primary objective. After all, things happen in different ways in life: things don’t always go well and how we want. We encouraged him to participate in a mentoring program and found a historian working for one of the logistics companies. He gladly shared his experience and now our young man is successfully studying dream archeology. We are proud of him. “

It is not possible to save everyone

Pavalkis is glad that he has managed to find a connection with young people. “It is important to realize that a success story can only be achieved through collaboration. One part is what Casa de la Juventud does, the other is how young people behave. We try to make sure employees look for connect with each young person as much as possible, have a positive relationship and don’t avoid arguments. I think that I and our employees really succeed, “says Gražvydas. – Of course, it’s definitely not the case that everything goes well for us. We must understand that we cannot save everyone without their own will. Some young people have excessive injuries, which require not only the best specialists and time to heal, but also the young person’s own work. “

Asked why he works at SOS Children’s Villages, G. Pavalkis says that he is happy to open opportunities for young people: “The work is very creative, you can realize your ideas. We spent over an hour with the team refining the concept of the Youth Home and youth programs, preparing various projects, looking for mentoring programs, various specialists. It’s fun to see that the work you put in brings results. I learned a lot at SOS Children’s Villages, strengthened as a leader, I worked with a very strong team. Now I return the baggage of accumulated knowledge: I share my experience with others. “