Implemented as a pilot program in the Czech Republic, in the cities of Plzeň (Plzeň Region), Ústí nad Labem and Bílina (Ústí nad Labem Region), the POLIS Project provides complex services and counseling for people in danger of social exclusion and for employees of institutions working and entering into contact with socially excluded persons.

The primary objective of the POLIS Project is to coordinate the services of all institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and authorities in selected areas so that they all work together to fight against the worsening of social exclusion and the development of slums. The project does this by implementing non-discriminatory measures that help the socially deprived integrate into the wider society, and also help them receive the appropriate education needed to succeed in the labor market.

The POLIS Project:

• Links together institutions (such as public administration offices, schools, police, representatives etc.) which enter into regular contact with socially deprived persons
• Assists in the planning phase of the municipal social policies, School Educational Programs and the like
• Supports non-discriminatory measures in the labor market
• Conducts field social work for the socially deprived
• Provides information on specific living conditions of the socially excluded, highly useful for police officers in the combat of crime (loan sharking, organized crime, pick-pocketing, etc.)
• Supports intercultural education and other educational activities for children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds; motivates the clients to watch over their children’s school attendance.

People in Need has local branch offices in Plzeň, Ústí nad Labem and Bílina. Teams of six to ten people include: a branch director, street workers, education professionals (focusing on the Labour Office employees, teachers, etc.), coordinators for tutoring children and free-time activities and managers of job opportunities for the long-term unemployed. The POLIS Project staff integrates local-level counseling, community planning and intercultural education, and draws plans aiming to shape and develop social policies and services so that they can address the needs of all potential beneficiaries while motivating them to get active in social life. It is the hope that through all of this the local citizens will benefit from the well coordinated, easily accessible and inexpensive support of the POLIS Project.

Long-Term Objectives of the POLIS Project Aim to:

• Reduce the number of socially excluded people (non-productive people dependent on welfare transfers) and prevent ghetto development
• Help shape municipal social policy so that it keeps people in intermediary crisis from falling into permanent social exclusion and enables them to fully return to society
• Support effective information exchange between institutions working with the socially excluded
• Increase the public awareness of the conditions of life for the socially excluded.

The POLIS Project is carried out by the Social Integration Programs which is department of People in Need. For more information see its website.