Greece

Home-Start Hellas

Tanya Baron, Director of Home-Start International at the time, first introduced the idea of the Home-Start schemes in our country in 2003. At present, there are two Home-Start schemes in Greece: one in N. Ionia and Volos area and one in Kavala city. However Cavala’s scheme has not yet started its operation due to financial reasons, although they are expected to solve all obstacles soon. Funding has been secured for a third scheme in Athens and the scheme is in the process of its development.

The Institute of Social Protection and Solidarity (ISPS), a body of public status with an advisory capacity to the Department of Health and Social Solidarity, has been active in the development of Home-Start schemes in the country, while in April 2008 Home-Start Hellas was instituted in order to act as the national coordinator of Home-Start schemes.

Home-Start N. Ionia -Volos

The scheme was set up in November 2006. Since 2007, the scheme has helped 30 families with 69 children, either through volunteer support or by being connected with other social agencies. 20 volunteers were trained for family support, while 10 more volunteers are available for other tasks.

The scheme has a close relationship with, and receives much support from, the Municipality of N. Ionia, and collaborates with 17 other social agencies and governmental and non-governmental local associations. However, since 2007, Home Start N. Ionia-Volos has been struggling with financial issues. The scheme decided to undertake parallel actions in an effort to overcome financial difficulties by gaining positive publicity and recognition within the community it serves.

During 2008 the scheme applied for and received a small sum of money from the Department of Employment and Social Protection in order to serve families from a neighboring municipality, Essonia.

In September 2008, the scheme, in collaboration with the Institute of Social Protection and Solidarity, organized a conference at Volos on the issue of corporal punishment of children. The conference was attended by more that 200 people amongst whom were the Vice-President of the Greek Parliament, the Chief of Magnesia Prefecture, the Vice-Mayors on social issues of the municipalities of Volos and N. Ionia, the President of the Institute of Social Protection and Solidarity and the Vice President of Home-Start Hellas. The conference got a lot of attention from the local media and gave the local scheme wide publicity. At the beginning of 2009 the scheme signed a contract with the Institute of Social Protection and Solidarity. Under the terms of this contract, the scheme has undertaken the task to run a local campaign against corporal punishment of children. The campaign included visits to all Parents’ Councils of pre-school and school age children (altogether 52 visits), presentation of the issue, exchange of views, distribution of material and discussions for further dissemination. The campaign was completed and its results, which were evaluated by the participants as very positive, are in the process of being published and distributed to the participants and the local agencies. Home Start N.Ionia-Volos intends to continue its campaign against corporal punishment of children for the next year in collaboration with the ISPS and the Prefecture of Magnesia.

At the beginning of 2009, an evaluator from the Institute of Social Protection and Solidarity ran the scheme’s first evaluation, through questionnaires and interviews with families, volunteers, members of the Management Committee, professionals from collaborating agencies and the Coordinator. The evaluation report shows how well the community received the Ηome-Start idea and its positive impact on families, volunteers and the local community. The report will be published within the next few months by ISPS.

In the last two years, Home Start N. Ionia-Volos in collaboration with La Leche League Chapters of Volos, has organized an annual event to promote breastfeeding, as part of the Synchronized Breastfeeding Around The World annual record breaking attempt. In this event - held last October - 12 mothers breastfed 16 children simultaneously.

Two volunteers of Home Start N. Ionia-Volos participated in a Grundtvig Workshop in Budapest, hosted by Home-Start Hungary.

In November 2009 the scheme moved to new premises which are more central and more spacious.

Over the next few months, the scheme is planning a Christmas event for the families and the volunteers and a conference about the results of the campaign against the corporal punishment of children that took place in 2009.

In spite of its positive impact, funding remains a problem for the scheme since public funding is precarious, unsteady and generally difficult to get.

Ioanna Touloupi
Coordinator
Home-Start N. Ionia -Volos
Metaxourgio
N. Ionia 38446
Magnesia
Greece

Tel-fax. 0030 24210 60661
0030 6946904671
homestartionia@gmail.com
n.ionia.volos@homestart.org.gr
ioannatouloupi@gmail.com
www.volos.homestart.org.gr

National Coordination

In April 2008, Home-Start Hellas was set up in order to act as the National Coordinator of Home-Start schemes in Greece, a role that temporarily was held by the Institute of Social Protection and Solidarity (ISPS). The two bodies signed an agreement under which ISPS would help Home-Start Hellas in its new role. During 2008, ISPS staff have helped the development of the new agency and trained its members.

Home-Start Hellas, under the terms of its statutes, provides support in the setting up and running of a scheme through advice, training, supervision and provision of information, safeguarding all along Home-Start ethos and practice standards. Further to that, its role is to promote the public image of Home-Start and raise awareness at national level of the importance of the services that Home-Start provides.

In September 2008, Home-Start Hellas held a seminar with the staff of the schemes of N. Ionia-Volos and Kavala in which the issues of promotion and fundraising were discussed. Members of Home-Start Hellas also contributed to the development of the international Quality Assurance Statements for Home-Start and participated in the international conference organized by Home-Start International in Prague in November 2008.

During 2009, funding was secured for the development of a new scheme in Athens and organizational preparations are taking place in order to for the scheme to start its operation at the beginning of 2010.

In order to assist the scheme at Volos, Home-Start Hellas has organized in the last months 3 fundraising meetings (one more is coming) at the homes of members of H/S Hellas with the purpose of building up a list of steady financial supporters of the scheme.

Home-Start Hellas also designed and is going to produce soon brochures with H/S logo, which will be used for presents during Christmas as a way of promoting the network and gaining some income.

Finally, Home-Start Hellas has been involved in the efforts for the setting up of a Civil Society Parliament.

Evi Hatzivarnava
Chryssoula Kirkitsou
Home-Start Hellas

24, Ethnarchou Makariou str
Alimos
Athens 17455
Greece

Tel. 0030 2130233612
fax 0030 2103233650
e-mail hellas@homestart.org.gr
e-mail ehatzivarnavakazassi@yahoo.gr
e-mail kirkitsou@hol.gr
www.homestart.org.gr

The report was prepared on the 5th of December 2009

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