WORKSHOPS SESSION   :   Thursday 07 March 14:30 - 18:00    

PURPOSE : mutual learning among the participants, working specially in frontline, facing extreme poverty
combined with serious mental health disorders,  denial of fundamental rights, abandonment and loneliness, conditions that the long stay on the street made even more complex and difficult to resolve.   Learning that passes through:

-   deepening of ideas: the centrality of the person, dignity, respect, rights;
-   assessment practices: positive experiences and less barriers, difficulties and solutions
-   implement innovative projects: complexity and multidisciplinary response

The focus in the workshops will be concentrated - through concrete presentation of cases - especially on homeless people with mental health disturbs and  how is  working approached and method of intervention in emergency  & meeting,  in support & accompanying, in prevention for avoid exclusion process, especially for more vulnerable people.

METHOD :

Each participant is invited to participate in workshops, exchanging with colleagues,  experiences, ideas and proposals.  All received contributions will be published  in the Proceedings of the Conference on the SMES website. 
But in order to promote and facilitate free intervention and exchanges, the Scintific Committee will propose to a limited number of redactors, to present -  in official way  -  their contributions. 
Less lectures in favour of more free interventions and exchanges.

SUGGESTED  TOPICS  for   workshops

When people have lost everything only the street remains where survive on.  (cf. Dignity & Welfare)

GROUP A.    Entrenched rough sleepers:  what aptitudes are required  to facilitate approach to persons  and what resources required in order to insure access of homeless to health and social services ?  
What is the sense of  freedom and compulsory intervention, respect and solidarity concerning people on the street suffering of mental diseases and absolute deprivation?  Does partnership, civic co-responsibilities and interdisciplinary work ?  What results can be achieved?  And what obstacles must be overcome in this personalised pathway ?  

GROUP B.    Emergency shelter and temporary housing:  How to prevent that emergency condition becoming in chronic situation ?  In almost all European metropolis on the winter municipalities launched an emergency plan.  Who and how accompanying measures to prevent that at the end of emergency program the  people find himself again back on the street ? 

GROUP C.    Moving from homelessness to home – how can one guarantee a sense of belonging? and in sustainable way?  How avoid the risk of segregation (ghetto) and discrimination How to promote deinstitutionalization at all levels, social: shelters and emergency centres and at health level : psychiatric institutions ?

GROUP D.    Homelessness prevention : at the streets (no two nights in a row on the street...)  at the shelters and at home regarding especial risk people:   migrants European & extra EU, and  without documents, elderly people abandoned in their solitude and women and children.
In what manner "clinics solidarity 'can become the important preventive services at social and health levels, whether in connection with social and health public services ?

GROUP E.   Dignity  &  Well-being:  how  will be possible working  together  (mental health and social services of public and private Organisations)  for a very difficult situation, when the solution seems very IMPOSSIBLE?  
cf.   "Dignity & Well-being project"
What it's similar and different in European Metropolis concerning this specific situations ?
Very important are the exchanges, to implement innovative practices based on the concepts of respect of suffering and abandoned people, of sharing responsibility in co-working and to formulate concrete proposals.
 

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CONTACT: SMES-Europa,  Tel / fax: +32.2.5385887 - mob.. 32,475634710
Mail: smeseu@smes-europa.org      web: www.smes-europa.org