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  • Bringing neighbours closer

    Bringing neighbours closer

    Welcome to the Interreg V-A Latvia–Lithuania Programme 2014–2020!

    About the programme
  • Bringing neighbours closer

    Bringing neighbours closer

    Welcome to the Interreg V-A Latvia–Lithuania Programme 2014–2020!

  • Bringing neighbours closer

    Bringing neighbours closer

    Welcome to the Interreg V-A Latvia–Lithuania Programme 2014–2020!

LLI-468 StepForward: activating personal resourses and developing employability skills (I can work)

Project aim was to promote awareness about how people with disabilities can work and be equal members of society. Project also improved accessibility and efficiency of social services to help people with disabilities to find employment. More than 250 people with disabilities and their family members participated in the project. People with disabilities and their families received more than 2500 individual consultations (psychologist, physiotherapist, social worker, ergotherapist, career consultant) in day care centres in Kretinga and Raseiniai and Social Service Agency of Kuldīga municipality. Their working skills have been improved in  different workshops: woodworking and creative, e.g., sewing, knitting, weaving, kitchen/coffee and ceramics.

Competences of Kurzeme, Kretinga and Raseiniai specialists who are working with people with disabilities have also been improved (training, experience exchange between social service institutions, cross boarder networking). Awareness about people with disabilities and their employment has been raised by organizing:

  • public workshops – “Friendship coffee” in Kretinga – a training activity for people with disabilities to strengthen the skills learned in a kitchen/coffee workshop in a work like environment. It has been organised every second week in public institutions of Kretinga to show local residents that people with disabilities can be part of the labour market. Likewise, meetings took place in public institutions in Raseiniai to show products produced by people with disabilities.
  • meetings with employers in Kurzeme region to inform about possibilities of employing people with disabilities.

Several infrastructure works have been carried out during the project:

  • access to Skrunda municipality social service agency has been improved;
  • surroundings of the Kretinga day activity center have been improved;
  • a path of emotional labyrinth – a path of relaxation where people can think about their emotions on their own or together with specialist – on the premises of the Kretinga day activity centre and Skrunda municipality have been created;
  • ceramics workshops in Kretinga day activity centre and Raseiniai day care have been equipped;
  • a multi sensory room in Raseiniai day care center has been created.

Over the course of the project people with disabilities who had completed the project and acquired skills gained more self-confidence and necessary skills to participate in the labour market.

Social media and contacts:
Phone: +371 67331492
E-mail: pasts@kurzemesregions.lv
Website: www.kurzemesregions.lv
Address: 4a Valguma Street, Riga, Latvia (Administration office)

8 June 2023

Final Conference and “Lunch of senses” in the project “I can work”!

On 19 January 2023 in Ventspils Kurzeme Planning Region held its Final #Icanwork Project Conference and invited employers across Kurzeme to participate in the “Lunch of senses” for employers as part of the afternoon networking session.

The morning session of the Conference primarily targeted the topic of intergration methods of people with disabilities into the labour market, by presenting best practice stories and project achievements in Kurzeme and Lithuania. Although the issue is still acute, partners shared their examples and innovative ideas on how the Day care centre visitors’ can be involved in the labour market through skill development groups and crafts’ classes, by making different souvenirs, art objects and household items to be offered for purchase to enterprises and citizens, thus building one’s own self-confidence, abilities and apprising the role in society.

The networking session took place using the “Lunch of senses” approach – with participants trying to go through different disability types and experiencing the varioius disorders (movement, vision, hearing and mental) through their “own shoes”. We learned of the sign language, how to orient oneself in the building and taste the meal with eyes closed, how to eat with special movement disturbing cooking gloves, order food not hearing what’s offered and laughed a lot about ourselves on how we can manage to accomplish all this:)

In the evening session the participants visited the new science centre Vizium to find out about the accessibility solutions used.

With these events we have finished our  2 years’ long project and now, with new impressions and motivation, shall continue to work on facilitating the integration of people with disabilities into the society.

We sincerely thank organisation Apeirons for their huge support in organising the event!

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10 August 2022

People with disabilities from Kurzeme participate at the summer camp in Lithuania

On 18 – 22 July 2022 15 participants – people with disabilities from Liepāja and Kuldīga Day Support Centres – as part of the “I can work” project – went to Kretingas region to take part in the five days’ summer camp together with 15 particiants from Kretinga Day Activities’ Centre and Raseinai Employment and Service Centre for People with Disabilities.

In the summer camp, the participants took part in:

  • the Busy Hands Day, where they attented the pottery, bag decoration and badge making workshops,
  • the Sports Day with various physical exercises, competitions in teams and the labyrinth therapy course;
  • the Creativity Day with pottery glazing and soap making workshops.

In addition to practical activities at workshops, each day the participants spent in a nice and friendly atmosphere with their colleagues by jointly playing various quiz games, dancing, watching movies, making gifts and other nice surprises to each other!

Now we’re waiting for the visit of our lithuanian colleagues for a summer camp in Kurzeme on  5 – 9 September!

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10 August 2022

Social workers from Kurzeme on an experience exchange visit to Lithuania

On 4 – 5 July 2022 twenty social workers from Kurzeme together with “I can work” project partners from Kretinga went on an experience exchange visit to Raseiniai (Lithuania). Together with lithuanian colleagues the social workers from Kurzeme learned how and what services people with disabilities can receive at the project partner institution – Raseiniai Employment and Services Centre for people with Disabilities.

 

The particiants also met with representatives both, from the Centre and the Municipality, visited the Red Cross shelter for persons exposed to social risk, as well as the branch of the Raseiniai Employment and Services Centre for people with Disabilities specialised in prividing services to persons with physical disorders, incl. long-term care services at the Centre, visited also the famous shrine of Šiluva and came together for a project working group meeting, where discussed the upcoming partners’ visits to Kurzeme.

 

Two exciting days, full of new impressions and knowledge The participants return home full of enthusiasm and happy of newly acquired friends at day activity centres in Kretinga and Raseiniai  Now we will wait and be happy to host the lithianian colleagues in Kurzeme already in September!

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10 August 2022

Partners meeting in Kretinga

On 10 June in Kretinga (Lithuania) 2022, at Kretinga Day Activities Centre, 4 project partners – Kurzeme Planning Region, Kuldīga County Municipality, Kretinga Day Activities Centre and Raseiniai Employment and Service Centre for People with Disabilities – came together for a joint partners’ meeting to discuss the project progress and upcoming joint activities for the summer season.

 

Overall, the project runs according to the schedule. Two summer camp dates for people with disabilities were set and discussed (18.-22.07.22. in Lithuania and 5.-9.09.22. in Kurzeme). In addition, two experience exchange visits were planned to be held for project partners and representatives of local social services (04.-05.07.22. in Lithuania and 15.-16.09.22. in Kurzeme).

At the end of the meeting partners visited 3 social institutions in Kretinga – a group house for persons with mental disorders, which has recently been established as an individual house with own small garden in a nice private houses’ area and provides for a possibility to accommodate up to 10 persons; a group appartment for 5-6 kids in an ou-of-home care, equippped in a way so that the kids would feel as is being in a family, as well as the public city shelter, which provides for a possibility of a short-term temporary, as well as the long-term stay for those in need.

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10 August 2022

International conference on social work

On 9 June 2022 in Kretinga (Lithuania), the Kretinga Day Activity Centre in cooperation with Kurzeme Planning Region held the conference “Facilitating social work and institutional cooperation”.

 

More than 60 participants, both from Latvia and Lithuania, took part at the conference. The lectors presented a number of important topics – on the methodics of the newly introduced labyrinth therapy for clients of the Day activity centre, the importance of the green or nature therapy for improving the mental and physical health of people with disabilities, support measures for job seekers and services provided by social service institutions.

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10 August 2022

Training course on people with disabilities and the labour market

From February till June 2022 the training for social workers on people with disabilities and the labour market took place in Kurzeme.

 

80 social workers and representatives from NGOs working with the disabled participated in the two days’ training course led by the Liepāja Society of the Blind. The first day took place online via Zoom in 4 groups and focused on emotional intelligence, i.e. stereotypes and prejudice on how people with disabilities are perceived in the society and ways for overcoming those, recommendations on how to better communicate with people with functional disabilities and cooperation between the different institutions and organisations involved.

 

For the second training day the participants arrived in two groups to Ziemupe, the rehabilitation centre “Dvēseles veldzes dārzs” ran by the Liepāja Society of the Blind, where learned on legislation related to accessibility, specifics in hiring the disabled and particiated in the practical training on universal design principles. The most exciting was the closing part of the training, where participants put themselves in the skin of the blind, by going on the special trail with eyes closed and trying to comprehend the environment through other senses – touch, taste, smell, hearing.

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31 January 2022

Meetings with employers

In December, within the framework of the project LLI-468, “StepForward:activating personal resourses and developing employability skills ” (I can work) Kurzeme Planning Region visited two companies, “Arčers BB” in Roja, Talsi region, which owns the cafe “Otra puse” and the hotel  “Roja” and in the social enterprise Creative Bread Laboratory “Ramala ”, Ventspils.

Zane Vaivode, the head of the company “Archers BB”, welcomed and introduced us to the company’s operations, emphasizing that the tourist season is the busiest from May to October. During this time, the company attracts additional staff and has experience in employing people with disabilities. The company has employed two young people with disabilities, one of whom has done cleaning work on the territory, and the other has worked in the field of record keeping.

The head of the company emphasizes that when attracting an employee with a disability, the entrepreneur must identify the type of disability and provide the job according to his or her abilities. It should be noted that this person is likely to need support and supervision on a daily basis. The company has used the support provided by the State Employment Agency for subsidized jobs. This support has been useful, but there is a need for such support in the long term.

This support is designed to promote the responsibility of entrepreneurs to involve people with disabilities in self-employment, but unfortunately companies cannot always afford it.

The discussion was also attended by young people with disabilities, who shared positive work experience and emphasized the importance of being useful, helping and completing their daily lives.

One of the girls shared her experience that due to the opportunity to work, she has overcome emotional difficulties, depression and the feeling that no one needs her.

The head of the company says that one of the youngsters comes to clean the area and helps with the work, even when there is no season and the entrepreneur does not have the opportunity to employ this person because he feels useful

The second company we visited is the creative bread laboratory “Ramala”. The company manufactures confectionery, provides catering services, and organizes bakery therapy classes. For the first time, the hostess was exposed to bread therapy classes at the Bulgarian organization “Maizes māja” which has created bread therapy as a working method and promoted it all over the world. Bread therapy helps to develop fine motor skills, arouses fantasy and imagination, develops daily skills and abilities, provides positive and unforgettable emotions.

During the meeting, the hostess allowed us to enjoy a bread therapy session, which was a wonderful adventure and resulted in a loaf of bread in the form of a Christmas tree, which filled the whole room with its warmth and smell.

The head of the company Ruta Šenkevica shared her experience in employing various target groups and discussed the possibilities of employing people with disabilities.

The head of the support center for families and children with special needs “Cimdiņš” Ieva Sāmīte took part in the discussion. She emphasized the importance of promoting co-operation between local authorities, businesses and non-governmental organizations working with people with disabilities on a daily basis. She emphasizes that young people who visit “Cimdiņš” are very happy to get involved in everyday activities, such as cleaning the territory, cleaning snow, etc.

By collaborating and involving a mentor to provide support and supervision during the work process, these young people with mental disabilities could be successfully employed in areas such as assistant janitors, cook assistants, etc. areas.

Young people with disabilities also shared their desires and dreams about work. They emphasized that they were very happy to be useful and involved in employment and that the main areas in which they could work were washing dishes, cleaning the surroundings, and helping the kitchen with the products.

At the end of the event, we sat at the table, discussed and treated ourselves with the delicacies and tea provided by the hostess of the company.

 

 

The activities of the project “I can work” are implemented with the support of Interreg V-A Latvia – Lithuania cross-border cooperation programme 2014-2020 www.latlit.euwww.europa.eu

 

For more  information:
Ilona Talente
Kurzemes planning region
project “I can work” manager
Telephone: 27016380,
Email: ilona.talente@kurzemesregions.lv

This information reflects the views of the author. The Managing Authority of the program is not responsible for the possible use of the information contained therein.

 

 

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31 January 2022

First activities implemented in the project “I can work”

Kurzeme planning region in cooperation with one Latvian and two Lithuanian partners (Kuldīga municipality, Kretinga Day activity center and Disability employment and service center in Raseiniai) have implemented various activities in the project.

Kuldīga municipality has improved the infrastructure and created a pedestrian path in Skrunda parish in the territory of Kuldīga municipality agency “Social service”.

The newly created path provides access to social service facilities for people with reduced mobility, as well as other visitors.

In order to promote the development of social skills and work skills, as well as the improvement of the territory, people with disabilities participated in wooden and creative workshops, which made flower boxes and created an emotional maze. The emotional maze is a place where visitors can relax and enjoy the visual and fragrant delights of flowers and various herbs.

People with disabilities and their family members receive consultations from a specialist psychologist, physiotherapist, career counselor, social worker.

Within the framework of the project, the Kurzeme Planning Region organizes meetings with employers in all Kurzeme municipalities in order to promote the understanding of the society and employers about people with disabilities, their ability to participate in the labor market and be equal members of society.

Meetings have already taken place in several municipalities and their territories: Kuldiga, Skrunda, Liepaja, Saldus, Dundaga.

Representatives of the State Employment Agency took part in the events, providing more information on the support offered by the state to employers and opportunities to employ people with disabilities. Representatives of the target group shared their work skills and experience in cooperation with employers. Employers, in turn, informed about vacancies and the specifics of the job.

During the event, discussions took place between the participants of the event and contacts were established between employers and potential employees in some places of the event. Thus, it is possible that some of the participants of the event will soon find a suitable job, and the employer will find a good employee.

The Center for the Employment and Services of the Disabled in Raseiniai organizes pottery workshops for people with disabilities and make beautiful and practical things from clay. By participating in these workshops, the target group improves communication and cooperation skills, acquires new work skills and learns to communicate with the public and sell their products.

People with disabilities and their families are provided with psychological counseling and physiotherapy.

Within the framework of the project, the Kretinga Day Activities Center has improved the infrastructure by creating a footpath around the day care center to ensure accessibility for people with reduced mobility.

Within the framework of the project, the target group receives psychologist consultations and physiotherapy classes.

There is a kitchen and pottery workshop in the Day Center. In the kitchen workshop, people learn work skills and abilities and make various confectionery products, while in the pottery workshop they make various beautiful utensils from clay. ‘The Friendship Coffee’ team, with the prepared products, goes to public events, showing their achievements in pottery workshops and honoring the participants with homemade delicacies.

The activities of the project “I can work” are implemented with the support of Interreg V-A Latvia – Lithuania cross-border cooperation programme 2014-2020 www.latlit.euwww.europa.eu

For more  information:
Ilona Talente
Kurzemes planning region
project “I can work” manager
Telephone: 27016380,
Email: ilona.talente@kurzemesregions.lv

This information reflects the views of the author. The Managing Authority of the program is not responsible for the possible use of the information contained therein.

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Main outputs of the project:

–       improved social services and infrastructure in Kurzeme, Kretinga and Raseiniai;

–       improved accessibility and diversification of social services;

–       multi-sensory room equipped at Raseiniai Disability Employment and Services Centre.

During the project, project partners:

  • improved a path that leads to the premises of the Social Service agency in Skrunda (Kuldīga municipality) to grant access to people with movement disabilities and created an emotional labyrinth with the assistance of people with disabilities working in the wooden workshop aimed at using various senses and feelings while exploring it;
  • created woodwork and creative workshops and provided specialist consultations for people with disabilities at Kuldīga  municipality social service agency to increase work skills of the disabled;
  • installed the emotional labyrinth for relaxation and physiotherapy activities at Kretinga Day Activities Centre, improving the path in the  surroundings of the Centre to make it accessible for people with movement/physical disability and equipped the ceramics workshop for people with moderate disabilities;
  • created kitchen and ceramics workshops  and provided specialist consultations  for people with disabilities at  Kretinga Day Activities Centre  to increase work skills of the disabled;
  • created and equipped the ceramics workshop to train working skills of people with moderate disabilities and installing a multi-sensory room for physiotherapy and relaxation activities at Raseiniai  Disability Employment and Services Centre.

 

 

Last updated: 26.06.2024 15:10