Closer to people
The importance of social work, the time spent, and the efforts made in caring for members of individual groups of society are immeasurable neither by the number of services provided or their recipients, nor by the funds allocated to this area. Statistics are more suitable when you need to prepare reports and measure changes that have occurred over a certain period of time.
Director of the Social Services Center A.Urbonienė (first from the right) encouraged several employees with letters of thanks and flowers.
2022 presented at the report meeting of employees of the Prienai Social Services Center held on March 15. the activity reports were repeatedly based on numbers. However, the heads of the institution and its departments in their speeches primarily emphasized the human factors that determine the implementation of the institution’s goals, the quality of social services, and the satisfaction of employees and service recipients. Therefore, many sincere thanks to colleagues for successful teamwork, mutual help, responsibility and raised “cartel” were heard at the meeting. This, according to them, encouraged them to bravely take on all the challenges related to the activity, to develop together and personally for everyone. We were happy with the good microclimate prevailing in the team, as well as with the various traditions and gathering events held by the employees.
From the right: Director of the Center A. Urbonienė, her deputy L. Šeškuvienė, head of the General Department A. Žemaitienė.
Aurelija Urbonienė, director of the Social Services Center of the Prienai District Municipality, vividly illustrated how the institution itself has changed in the fifteen years since its establishment, the tasks set for it have increased, the range of services provided and the scope of funding have expanded. in 2007 the institution started with twelve employees and fifteen clients and 300 thousand litas budget. In 2022, the Social Services Center already had 76 employees who provided services to 1,276 people who needed them, and the institution’s budget reached over 1.5 million. euros. The institution’s activities are financed by the Prienai district municipality, the state, European and other projects. In recent years, due to the increase in assigned functions, new services and employees, the share of state budget funds has increased to 800,000. euros.
The institution earns its own funds by providing paid help to the home, day social care, compensatory equipment rental, transportation services, for which 68 thousand was collected last year. euros.
According to A.Urbonienė, the institution’s strength is qualified employees, successfully implemented projects, a wide and important field of activity, and a growing team. She was pleased with the fact that the institution is a leader in the country in terms of the implementation of high-value projects financed by the European Social Fund. During the implementation of the project “Providing integral assistance to persons of target groups in their homes”, about 500,000 people were attracted over the course of several years. euro funds. About 350 thousand was received for the project “Complex services for the family”. euros, services up to
At the report meeting of employees of the Prienai Social Services Center.
provided to 1521 persons at the end of last year. According to the director, in 2023, the institution’s employees will face new challenges related to the continuity of integral help at home and complex services, preparation of documents, implementation of patient transportation service, organization of preventive activity services, implementation of document management system and human resources. There are a lot of innovations and uncertainties, the procedure for the provision of some services has not been prepared, so the employees of the Social Services Center will have to push themselves, because a lot of work and a lot of responsibility await them, said the director of the center.
Thanking the team members for maintaining high standards at work, A.Urbonienė also wished them personal happiness and quality rest, because, according to her, “a happy employee is a good employee”.
According to Liuda Šeškuvienė, deputy director of the Social Services Center for social affairs, the institution provides the following accredited social services: day social care for children; assistance at home for adults with disabilities, their families, elderly persons, their families; development, support and/or restoration of social skills for families experiencing social risk, their children, adults with disabilities, their families, elderly persons; temporary respite, etc. services. From the beginning of 2022, individuals (families) can apply for psychological help. Relatively new services started to be provided last year: social care for families experiencing social risk, raising children with disabilities or children with developmental disorders, for families and children of persons with disabilities, as well as social care in a person’s home.
The institution is also responsible for filling out the questionnaire on residents’ personal activities and abilities to participate, and for the implementation of the project financed by the Fund for European Aid to the Most Needy Persons. According to L. Šeškuviene, during the past year the number of recipients of food products and hygiene goods increased from 2,455 to 3,027 in the Prienai district, support is also provided to war refugees from Ukraine. She emphasized that next year the products will not be distributed, cards will be allocated to purchase them.
From May 22, 2022 The social services center became the first institution in the municipality of Prienė district to be awarded the EQUASS Assurance quality certificate for providing family support services. As the deputy director of the center mentioned, during this year we will have to prepare to implement this quality standard for other services as well.
Danguolė Juodsnukienė, social work organizer of the Family Support Department, spoke about one of the most difficult problems in the social bar – working with families. The number of families receiving case management remains stable. in 2022 worked with 159 families with 325 children. However, social workers and case managers have to deal with more complex situations related to legal issues, especially when conflicts arise during divorce. Their clients become families who lack social and parenting skills, the ability to take care of children; having health, behavior, addiction problems; facing violence, financial and other problems. Therefore, the range of services provided to these families is extremely diverse – from counseling and information to help in looking after children and overcoming crisis situations. Social workers help organize meals, transport services, stock up on clothes and footwear, necessary medications, develop personal hygiene skills, and provide psychological support.
D. Juodsnukienė was happy that thanks to caring people and entrepreneurs, it was possible to fulfill the Christmas dreams of 149 children of these families, and 26 future first-graders were provided with backpacks and school supplies. Last year, 53 children participated in camps held in four wards, parents were invited to positive parenting courses, and the activities of the family club were renewed. Various events took place, useful meetings with community officials.
The head of the general department, Aurelija Žemaitienė, paid more attention to the delivery of the shuttle service. According to her, the need for transport services is growing, it is provided to the elderly, the disabled, families experiencing social risks, and patients. Last year, 11,920 euros were earned for the service, 82 percent. income was received for transportation of hemodialysis center patients. Starting from October of last year, a social shuttle service was tested in the Center of Social Services for three months, which, according to the speaker, was in great demand among the population, greatly facilitating the mobility of those living in rural areas.
Currently, the center is preparing for the implementation of the shuttle service, which will be provided free of charge to patients of a certain segment who have received referrals from family doctors to higher-level medical institutions, at the municipal level from 2023. July 1st.
Social work organizer Živilė Simanavičienė and social worker Rita Vaškevičienė presented the services provided by the staff of the Department of Social Care and Home Care, the most popular of which is the home help service, which was received by 187 people last year, most of the recipients of the service were in the 65-84 age group, the largest their number is in the city of Prienai and the district of Jiezno. According to the staff of the department, people’s feedback confirms that they need this type of service very much in terms of social communication and household help.
Personal assistance services were provided to persons with disabilities. And for the elderly, disabled, nursing persons – integral support services, they were taken care of by two teams of specialists. Relatives who take care of seriously ill family members who are unable to take care of themselves can use the temporary respite service as needed, but according to experts, it has not yet caught on in practice.
Asta Graužinienė, social work organizer of the department of social care and supervision, while talking about the work with children, seniors and disabled people who attend classes at the Social Services Center, noticed that the results of this activity cannot be represented either by numbers or graphs, they are felt by the heart, through lived emotions and communion. The visitors of the disabled group talked about this in the film created by the center’s workers Agnė Knašytė and Violeta Puišienė. It was at the Social Services Center that people with mental disabilities found a caring family, friends, and gained various experiences that opened a window to the world and self-knowledge.
Sandra Mekionienė, the head of the Social Support and Health Department of the Prienė district municipal administration, who participated in the report meeting, emphasized the importance of social work in society. According to her, social workers will still be needed in the future, because there will always be vulnerable people. She wished the employees of the social service center to accept their difficult mission, understanding how important it is to extend a helping hand to those who are isolated and change their lives for the better.
Dale Lazauskienė