Investment of Social Services system all over Armenia

During 20 years of its operation MA could pass on to professional social work from volunteer humanitarian activity, creating a community-based social healthcare service provision system all over Armenia.

With the funding of international donor organizations and through partnership of RA Government Mission Armenia has created more than 100 infrastructures, such as 32 soup kitchens, 16 community centers, 16 training resource centers, 2 rehabilitation centers, 41 health posts, etc. The organization has renovated, furnished and properly equipped these infrastructures.

Today more than 600 professional employees of Mission Armenia (social workers, care providers, doctors, nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists, office staff, etc.) provide social-healthcare services to 8000 single elderly and 7000 refugees living in temporary dwellings in 9 out of 11 Marzes of Amenia. The services are being provided both in community centers and beneficiary houses. Beneficiaries benefit from different services of the organization: nutrition provision (5000 beneficiaries are being provided with hot and caloric meal once a day in Soup Kitchens), medical services (consultation, free of charge provision of some medications, daily intensive care provision in Rehabilitation centers), gerontological, legal, medical, social trainings and consultations, in-home service provision for homebound elderly and disabled persons (personal hygiene, house cleaning, cooking, leisure time, etc.), partial or full renovation of single elderly and refugee dwelling environments, vocational trainings for young refugees (computer skills, hairdressing, basket-making, tailoring, etc.), educational trainings and summer camps for refugee children and more.

As a result of 20 years of Mission Armenia's intensive work the following was pursued:

"¢ Alleviation of Social tension in communities

"¢ Government's partner - "Ž This is an unexampled phenomenon in NGO sector. Giving a high appreciation to the role and activities of Mission Armenia in social sphere, the Government of Armenia assigned allocating some funds from State Budget of 2007 for financing a part of Mission Armenia activities.

"¢ Local Authorities' partner - The services are being provided in the communities in cooperation basis, through concluding cost-sharing contracts with local authorities.

"¢ International organizations' partner - An important program implementing partner for huge international organizations, such as USAID, UNHCR, Swiss Development and Cooperation Agency, The Government of Sweden, MSF-Belgium, etc.

"¢ Experimentation, introduction and expansion of social service provision different models

- Community-based social-healthcare service provision to single elderly and disadvantaged refugees,

- "Warm Hearth" project is an experimental model of group home with community based social-healthcare service for orphaned young individuals with disabilities. A warm atmosphere of home and family is created for them. It has been already a year since the project has been operating in Silikyan district of Yerevan. At the moment 8 adults with different physical and mental disabilities live in "Warm Hearth" group home.

- Mental Health Day centers in Gegharkunik region of Armenia, which provide out-patient services to people with mental disabilities.

- Non-state old peoples' home for single elderly in South of Armenia, Syunik region. It provides daily intensive care for single elderly.

- Social-healthcare center, Social House - 4 storied building is being constructed in Yerevan. The first two floors will be a modern and comfortable social center with different sections. There are going to be 34 1-room apartments on the 3-4 floors of this building where a certain number of homeless elderly will live all their life and benefit from all the services provided in the center on free of charge basis.

- Elder-Garten- The elderly will spend here the whole day on club basis. A rehabilitation center will also operate there for the beneficiaries in need of daily intensive care.

"¢ Regional outstanding organization - Introduction of new model of community-based social assistance in Caucasus (Georgia, Dagestan, Azerbaijan)

In all its initiatives, let it be care, trainings or renovations, MA has always pursued one goal, i.e. to assist the elderly people, refugees, and other vulnerable groups, to promote their active, healthy and dignified lifestyle and to increase the quality of their lives.

Armine Hareyan
Mission Armenia NGO
Public Relations Manager
Armine.hareyan@ngo.mission.am