The most common violation of the children rights is that they are being ignored, which brings to serious consequences. This is what the10-year experience of Armenian Relief Fund for "Children's Support Center" had shown. 

 The aim of the organization is to support the children, who appeared in difficult situation, who were exposed to hardship and violence. Here you can find the interview with the Executive director's Assistant Manane Petrosyan about the activities and services of the "Children's Support Center".

-When and how the Armenian Relief Fund for "Children's Assistance Center" was created?"Children's Support Center" Foundation (before March, 2008 "Children Reception and Orientation Center") is functioning from February 2000. It is one of the most interesting, most active and colorful program of Armenian Relief Fund, that supports Armenia's vulnerable population. 

At those years underage beggars made a big number. Taking into consideration the fact that Ministry of Inner Affairs "receiving-distributing" station has an important role in the lives of children that appeared in such difficult conditions, Armenian Relief Fund reconstructed the station building, after which in 1999 in accordance with the contract with RA Ministry of Inner Affairs, it started to realize the "receiving-distributing" center functions. The center was enriched with professional social-psychological services and began functioning from 2000.

There were numerous begging and vagrant children then. The center was created with that mission; to help the children left in the streets. Fortunately, that problem is nearly solved; there are no begging children in the streets, or there are very few. But the fact that the number of the begging children has decreased, does not yet mean that the children problem has disappeared. After years that problem has changed its face and has gone deeper.

- Now which group of children are the beneficiaries of the "Children's Support Center"?

The center supports all those children from the age 3 to 18 who have different behavior problems, are deprived from family care, are left out from education or from other main services, have undergone violation, appeared in the streets for different reasons, are begging, once had undergone trafficking, in other words, whose childhood has been harmed because of some reasons.

By now the center has given shelter not only to the children from different regions of Armenia, but also to ones from Karabakh, Javakhk, Russian Federation, Syria, Abkhazia etc. 

- What program are you carrying out and how do you support children now?

Different professionals are working at the center helping children and their families to mild the social and psychological tension. The professional team also develops family skills after overcoming the crises for latter life right organization.

Social worker, psychologist, social teacher, doctor and policeman also work at the center. The center realizes social-psychological rehabilitation services and also psychological recommendation for the children and their families, provides with shelter, supplies social protection, health and law services. A hot line for children protection and caretaking family service also functions there.

Due to the variety of the services the Center is able to respond to problems of children that appeared in difficult situation and is able to find solutions, the optimal ones, thanks to working 7 days a week and 24 hours a day. Due to this an opportunity is created stop the children from appearing in orphanages, even more, the return of children from orphanages to their biological families or caretaking families is organized.

- How do the children appear in the center?

Discovering the children needs help, thus the center uses all possible "pipes". We cooperate with the Police, with the departments of children protection, we carry out public awareness activities, function the hot line service.

Everybody can deliver children to the center; even the child himself can ask the center for help. He remains there as long as his and his family crises are successfully solved and the risk is neutralized.

Our main aim is to strengthen the family and to return the child into his biological family, but sometimes the family remains risky for the child. In such cases the center is looking for a caretaking family. If the care taking family is not suitable as well, we place the child in a care facility center.

- How many children are there in the center now?

There are 16 children in the center at this moment. But the number is unstable, it can increase or decrease. At the same time 30 children can live at the center, our resources are enough only for that, otherwise the service level quality will suffer, because there will be no personal approach.

- What kind of services does the 0800 61111 children protection Hot line serve?

The hot line makes three kinds of services; advising, guiding and intervening, if there is need.  The service is 24 hours and free of charge, a retrained social worker is answering to calls. After active public awareness actions the number of calls is increasing, up to 30 calls a day, and if there is no awareness activity, the number of calls does not go beyond 15. Calls are mostly made for finance, apartment and health support questions.

This is conditioned by the fact that in the wide public the image and expectancy from "hot line" services are not comprehended. Unfortunately, the service is perceived as a chance for financial support. Half of the calls are connected with the child rights. The parent does not know who to ask for solving this or that problem connected with the child. When behavior problems are noticed in the child, they call us. They also turn to us for temporary shelter, when the parents have health problems or care and bringing up problems rise, because of domestic violence. There were cases when the adult members of the family needed support (health, psychological support, career problem etc.)

Part of the calls was about conditions when for the problem solution other structures were needed. In such cases citizens are directed to the appropriate structures by getting proper information and contacts. 

- When has the care program been introduced and what successes have you marked?

From 2005 Fund for Armenian Relief "The Center for Children Support" with the support of UN children fund is realizing "Care taking family service" program by which model of care taking has been introduced and exercised in Armenia. Experimental works have been carried out in two regions: Gegharqunik and Lori. In cooperation with UN and Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of RA, we succeeded to find new care taking families for 32 children deprived from family care.

Children given to care are children with psychological traumas. Care taking parents and children given to care have a need of constant professional help and advice. Our professionals keep on working with them. At the same time works are carried out with the child's biological family and the care taking family in its turn helps the child to return to his real family. 7 children out of 32 returned to their biological families and one has gone to civil service. The care families get financial support for the child's current spending. Now the financial support is realized by the government and we keep on providing professional support and control of the families. To increase the number of the families, finances are needed, which we are searching both in Diaspora and in Armenia.

Interview by Mary Alexanyan

Source:www.hra.am