The H. Stepic CEE Charity participates in the project “Supported Housing” in Serbia, which  provides socially underprivileged youth with apartments, supports them financially and tries  to lead them to an independent life. The Charity cooperates with the Ministry of Labour and  Social Policy in Serbia on this project and adopted the renovation and furnishing of 6  apartments in Belgrade.  The aim of this project is to provide supported housing for young people who, upon their  coming of age, are about to leave an institution for children without parental care and to  prepare them for independent living by providing them with two years in „Supported living“.  Currently, there are 12 institutions for children and youth without parental care in the  Republic of Serbia providing accomodation for 750 children and young people. The children  are entitled to stay there until they graduate from high school or university. After that, the  young people have to start independent lives – to find a job, to solve their housing problem,  etc. This new beginning presents a big challenge and is a stressful process for children who  grew up in institutions and who did not have normal parental care and guidance. The  project „Supported living“ was initiated to address these specific needs. The idea is to  gradually prepare young people who left their primary institutions for independent life and to  support them during a two-year period by providing fully furnished and equipped apartments  for them to live in, as well as organize psycho-social support and counselling. Finally, the  young people should be able to start independent lives by adressing their employment and  housing needs and being encouraged to start their own family life.

 

A person needs to fulfill the following legal criteria in order to be entitled to the „Supported  living“ programme:  (1) the young man/woman does not have his/her own family to which they could return after  leaving the Institution.  (2) the young man/woman who completed vocational education.

 

According to these criteria, 24 young people from Belgrade-based institutions for children  and youth without parental care are chosen every two years to move into the six apartments  for „Supported living“.