SINCE 2002, WE HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING AND SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS, PEOPLE AND SOCIAL REFORMS.

All programs and projects of SOCIA – Social Reform Foundation are based on clearly defined values as expressed in the following statement:

• We believe that each human being is unique. Everyone has their value regardless of their mental, physical, material or other disadvantage.
• We believe that it is our obligation to create an environment in which good social services will originate as a response to the needs of people who are dependent on the help of others.
• We believe that the role of social services is to reflect on the needs of their clients. The services are to stimulate independence, responsibility and dignified life of the clients.
• We believe that the optimal environment for life is family and community; therefore the clients should receive social services in such an environment.
• We believe that the quality of life of socially disadvantaged groups can only improve when all of those involved cooperate as partners, e.g. clients, families, local office, church, state bodies, local companies, local entrepreneurs, social workers etc., and when both formal and non-formal solidarity exists among the groups.

We improve the quality of life of socially, physically and mentally disadvantaged groups of people

• We actively create modern field and outpatient services and we support the development of the services that already exist.
• We mediate financial support for the development of services and capacities of NGOs.

We support social system reforms

• We collaborate with non-governmental organizations and public administration to create policies and draft laws.
• We model and create the system of social services.
• We connect and network experts and organizations.
• We bring in new topics and innovations.

We strengthen social solidarity of inhabitants of Slovakia

• We create partnerships with entrepreneurs who have possibility to direct their support for organizations and individuals specifically and effectively through our foundation.
• We improve awareness of lay and professional public about possibilities of life of disadvantaged and endangered social groups in community, community services, philanthropy and volunteerism.

OUR PROGRAMS SUPPORTING INNOVATIVE SERVICES

LONG-TERM CARE – OLD AGE CONCERNS US campaign and public collection HELPING LADYBIRD

The goal of our long-term care program is to contribute significantly to making health care and social care for severely ill and disabled people, especially seniors, reach a high level of professionalism and respect for human rights, including dignified dying. [read more="Click here to Read More" less="Read Less"]
Long-term care is a special system of coordinated linkage of treatment and nursing care for persons with ill health lasting longer than three months. Its task is to support maximum self-sufficiency of the person by activating and supporting their own potential. At present such coordinated linkage is non-existent. 

Long-term care is a classic example of necessary cross-sectoral collaboration. It is provided especially to seniors (but not only to them) who need treatment care (under healthcare system authority) due to their state of health. Their negative state of health at the same time requires assistance of another person in providing self-service activities, and in keeping social relationships, i.e. nursing care (under authority of municipalities). 
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TRANSIT PROGRAM „From School to Life“

For more than 15 years, the SOCIA Foundation has been promoting and supporting social change and innovation.

The goal of one of our programs is also to support people who, for various reasons, rely on the help from others, especially through the development of community-based social services. For this reason we have decided to take a challenge and at the end of the last year we submitted a project to include young people with health or social disadvantages into the work process. This 40-month transit program: from school to life will be financially supported by the VELUX Foundation from Denmark.

Young people are able to use their abilities and skills, and they desire self-realization. This applies not only to private life but also to professional opportunities. It is important to have a supportive environment in which young people with disadvantages could handle the search for the first job, housing, and social contacts, especially if they cannot rely on the supportive environment of their own family or children's homes. Why is it important to integrate them? [read more="Click here to Read More" less="Read Less"]

Because they can find themselves in a supportive environment and in supportive relationships at the time of crucial inclusion. They can cope with the transition to professional life and they need to learn independence and build all the necessary skills for normal professional and personal life in the environment where they are. The program will focus on the transition from the educational system to professional life which is also meant to prevent the long-term unemployment of hard-to-employ young people and school leavers from vocational training schools and special boarding schools. The result may be a reduction in reliance on social benefits and a transition to the combination of receiving a disability pension (for people with severe disabilities) and a part-time or full-time employment. We strive to support young people in stronger social relationships and in taking responsibility for their own lives and the environment in which they live.

We will provide support for young people with disabilities in finding jobs and in integrating  into the community. They will get their first work experience and develop social skills. We will also support the development of other areas needed for independent living, such as money management, leisure activities, travel and interpersonal relationships.

We will implement the project in the region of Banská Bystrica (mainly Banská Bystrica, Brezno and Lučenec). Through individual support for young students with multiple disadvantages, we will enable them to transition to life and work.

Contact:

Martina Petijová, project coordinator,  petijova@., 0911 150 566

Katarína Medzihorská, teamleader, medzihorska@., 0911 631 325

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EARLY INTERVENTION – 7 Centers of Early Childhood Intervention focusing on families and their children with special needs

The aim of our early intervention program is to contribute to the creation of accessible, stable, and good quality network of early intervention services in collaboration with self-governing regions. [read more="Click here to Read More" less="Read Less"]
The early intervention service is the first service that we can provide to a family and create good preconditions for active management of new requirements in further life cycles: education in childhood and adolescence, preparation for employment, supported employment and accommodation, starting a family, etc.

In Slovakia 50-60,000 children are born every year. Out of these, some 5,000 are born prematurely and require a special approach and medical procedures in specialized neonatological centres. There are six of these in Slovakia. A group of prematurely born children needs long-term support at an early age because their development is delayed, and another group of prematurely born children needs long-term care with regard to their present disability; eg brain hemorrhage after birth is frequent in very young infants. According to the statistical data from the healthcare sector in Slovakia, every year up to 2,000 children are born with organ damage; a part of this number may overlap with prematurely born children.

However, the parents of such children need long-term accompaniment after the birth of the child as soon as possible but they do not get this in the healthcare sector. An early intervention service is a clear need of the families. It is a social service for families in which children with disabilities or delayed development were born. It is established by the law No. 448/2008 Coll. On Social Services as a public service. It may be provided for children from birth up to seven years of age when the child enters the school system and gets under the guardianship of special pedagogical centres. Early intervention is defined by complex stimulation of the child’s development which means that social workers, psychologists, special and therapeutic pedagogues, speech therapists and similar professionals work together forming a transdisciplinary team. No other social service provides citizens with such wide range of experts.
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SUPPORTING THE RIGHTS OF PEOPLE RELIANT ON THE HELP OF OTHERS – integrating people who have been placed in isolated and often closed facilities back to ordinary life and to normal accommodation or work

The aim of the program is to support fulfilling the human rights of people who are reliant on the help of others especially through the development of community social services. This is done by strengthening non-profit organizations and self-defenders, and also by advocacy before national, regional and European authorities. We develop partnerships between local governments and non-profit organizations. We support spreading best practice examples.  [read more="Click here to Read More" less="Read Less"]
We believe that family and community are optimum environments for life which is why clients should receive social services in such environments. Therefore we support the development of community services and the process of deinstitutionalization.

Changing this structure in favour of field and out-patient services and small capacity facilities is a difficult and long-term task which requires cooperation of state administration, local government, non-governmental organizations and other parts of society.
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HOW TO SUPPORT US

By the means of financial support and by its own activities SOCIA Foundation influences changes of the social system for the benefit of the most endangered social groups of inhabitants. We provide our services with maximum effectiveness, without unnecessary bureaucracy in the process of helping others. We do not confuse philanthropy with self-promotion or inappropriate promotion of our partners.

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THANKS TO THE OBTAINED MEANS WE SUPPORT

• Social services in the community.
• Development of field services for seniors so that they can be as long as possible in the natural environment.
• Early intervention development - we support families in individual home care for disadvantaged children, so that they do not have to be placed in large facilities.
• Integrating people who have been placed in isolated and often closed facilities back to ordinary life and to normal accommodation or work

CHARITY ADVERTISING

• Charity advertising means advertising for charitable purposes obtained by a foundation, a non-profit organization, a non-investment fund and a civil association from entrepreneurs. Revenue from this charity advertising will be exempt from tax up to the amount of € 20,000, and entrepreneurs who provide these funds will put that cost into their expenses. The law also lays down an obligation for charity advertising recipients to use exempt revenues only for generally beneficial purposes, such as support and development of sport, support for education, protection of human rights, provision of social assistance, etc. On the part of the entrepreneur who has had expenses on charity advertising, these expenses are tax expenses and may reduce their tax base only after they have been paid.
• Charity advertising revenue should be used for a particular purpose before the end of the year following the year in which it was provided (similar to using 2 %).
• The amount of € 20,000  is the highest possible amount that organizations can accept and that the entrepreneur includes in their expenses.

ANYONE WHO WANTS TO BECOME A DONOR WE WILL BE HONORED TO MEET.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Mgr. Vladislav Matej
Executive director of the foundation
matej@socia.sk

SOCIA – Social Reform Foundation
SOCIA – Nadácia na podporu sociálnych zmien
Záhradnícka 70
821 08 Bratislava
IČO: 318 163 98
banka: Tatra banka
IBAN SK27 1100 0000 0026 2582 8042
SWIFT TATRSKBX