One of the most important moments in every person's life comes when they leave their homes and parents to start their independent life and make responsible decisions. Some young people await this moment with excitement and readiness while others feel anxious and even fearful. What is most crucial in this life period is the family support available to the young person, as a precondition for building independent living skills for a successful start into adulthood.
Care Leavers are those young people who leave care or are getting ready to leave care because they have reached the age when they are no longer entitled to special protection and assistance from the state care system. In Bulgaria, the state care system does not provide any support programs for care leavers which could often cause a crisis or critical situation just because the young person did not feel prepared and supported making this crucial step.
The main tasks of the SIL Program include: To support and plan the process of transitioning from living in a care setting to being an independent young person; To support the young people in their first steps into adulthood when there is a period of "trial and error"; To help them find a safe place to live; To support them in finding jobs; To facilitate the social inclusion of young people; To decrease feelings of insecurity and anxiety caused by the sudden leaving of care.
When care leavers sign up for the program, they receive regular consultations and discussions on several major topics: Civil rights, access and relations with different state intuitions; Job hunting - how to find and keep a job is not only critical for admission to the adult world but also is an important survival skill for which there is little in the way of formal, structured preparation; Where to live - how to negotiate rent contracts, find suitable roommates, etc.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
