Between September 2016 and May 2018, the writing of this report,
• We have received more than 120 applications to the supported housing program,
• 74 clients received housing support – together with their family members this means supporting more than 100 people, a quarter of them minors. We have exceeded our expectations by 20%. 65 people (instead of the 60 planned) received housing support and the accompanying integration services for the originally planned time span (8-15 months), and another 9 people received emergency housing support for 1-3 months. Naturally, they could not benefit from the accompanying services as much as those involved at an earlier phase.
• during the program, our clients rented/still rent more than 40 units of housing, three people lived in a workers’ hostel, the rest in privately rented accommodation,
• we had terminated the housing support of 6 clients due to their unannounced departure – this is far less than we had anticipated.
• The total budget of the project is 82 501 550 HUF, until the writing of the report more than 75% were directly spent on the target group: about 13% of this included specialized services (interpreter, psychologist, mental health and free time group activities, social workers, etc), 57% were directly paid as financial or in-kind support (for example housing support or public transport tickets) to refugees and people under subsidiary protection. (This latter will increase slightly before the project is closed, we have already asked for permission to regroup our budget.) The rest covered the management and sustainment costs of the two-year project, publicity, etc.
Employment
34% of the adults (22 people) did not have a job when becoming involved in the program, and a further 23% only had illegal, mostly casual work. By the end of the project we only had three unemployed clients, and almost everyone has succeeded in getting a legal job, even if only part time, and several people have taken on additional jobs as well.
Almost all of those who already had a job when starting in our program have found a better paying one during our time together. Most of our clients still do not have well-paying jobs, they are typically employed in catering as kitchen help, sewing, health care, launderette, etc. Four clients have worked in positions that required a higher level of training: social work, intercultural mediation, nursing and one person has become self-employed. During the project, through help from the Refugee Program of the SOS Children’s Villages, we have contacted a company building stages which employed several of our clients in well-paying jobs. We could rely on the job search program of the Maltese Charity Service and the staff of Menedék Association.
You can read more about our results in the publications below:
From the Tigris to the Tisza river – the story of a refugee family - case study
On the roller coaster of a new life - interview with two teenage boys
Refugees Through the Eyes of a Retired Paediatrician
“This, what’s going on now, this is my life.” - an interview with a young Muslim girl
“What’s the rule?” - Interview about a young man’s path to a home