New community centre in Prague
Every year 200 children come out of orphanages and institutionalized care having come of age. At 18 they suddenly find themselves out on the street, without a job, without a place to live and with very little money. Although there are a number of charities working to help them, many of these young people get caught up in the vicious circle of drugs and crime. This week two Prague based charities Vhled and the Centre for Foster Care opened a new community centre in Prague which is to give these young people shelter and guidance.
Katka Schlesingerova explains that young people who never experienced family life are woefully unprepared for the pressures of the real world.
"They are not prepared to live an independent life and they need a lot of help as they can't cope with normal problems, everyday problems. We try to help them as much as we can."
So what are you offering them here?
"We will offer some of these young people who recently left orphanages a secure place to live; there are free flats here and these young people can live here for several months or years depending on their needs. And we would like to support them in finishing their studies because that is also a problem - they don't finish their education and then they find it difficult to get a job."
Monika is from the town of Litomerice and - like many of her friends at the orphanage - at 18 she headed straight for the Czech capital in search of a new life. She says the offer to use one of the flats at the community centre is the best thing that ever happened to her.
"The place is marvellous! I really like it. It will give me privacy and I can actually live here with my boyfriend. They said it was no problem. "
The four storey building in Prague 10 can accommodate up to thirty young people and there are a number of community rooms where people in need of help can find friends and get counselling. The rooms are bright and airy and the furnishings and electronic appliances - including a hi-fi system - have been provided by sponsors. One of the guests at the opening was Chris Gardener, President of the International Foster Care Organization.
"This is a really important project. It is really important for young people coming out of the care system that they have somewhere like this to go and it is also important for people who are involved in child care to have a centre like this to meet in. And it's lovely. It's a really lovely place."
You said you visited this place three months ago - what did it look like then?
"A building site. And I am totally and pleasantly surprised by the progress that's been made. It really looks lovely. I think the true test is that I really would like to live here myself -it is so nice."
Can you tell me why it is so important?
"I think in the past when children came out of institutionalized care or foster care there was certainty for them. There was a job, there was a place to live. It wasn't wonderful, but there was certainty. Now children have to make the transition into the real world from what has been often a sheltered institutional world and it isn't easy. I have seen the number of young people who come out of institutionalized care and fail, very quickly. They need a transitional step and this is the sort of place that can give them a transitional step. Real care, the sort of care that a parent would give you on your way into the real world."
