In Lviv, the social sphere is being reformed in order to optimize and increase the efficiency of service provision as much as possible.
For this purpose, five city institutions that take care of the elderly, children and families in need, the homeless and the needy, i.e. people in difficult life circumstances, will unite into the Lviv city center of social services and rehabilitation “Zherelo”. The decision on this association will be voted on at the city council session next week.
In particular, the following institutions will be united: the city rehabilitation center “Zherelo”, the city center of social services for family, children and youth, the Social Hotel, the city territorial center of social services and the Center for registration and overnight stay of homeless persons. The new institution is being created on the basis of the city rehabilitation center “Zherelo”, which has more than 30 years of successful experience in this field and the use of the best and most modern practices in helping children and youth with disabilities.
“Such a merger is a big challenge, because our team will increase several times. But we will improve and develop programs and services not only for children and youth with disabilities, but also for other needy residents of our community,” explains Zoreslava Lyulchak, head of the Lviv City Social Services and Rehabilitation Center “Zherelo”.
Last year, the mayor of Lviv created a working group, which included deputies, representatives of the public and the city council, to jointly develop the concept of creating a single center for the provision of social services in our community.
“We have assumed a great responsibility, but at the same time it is a great trust for us. And already on September 28, the session of the Lviv City Council will vote for the final joining of four communal institutions to the “Source” and the completion of the reorganization process. “Zherelo” began its activity as a charitable institution, we developed standards of dignity and quality of life for children with disabilities. Subsequently, the city created the communal institution “Zherelo” on the basis of a charity, and this is a unique experience of synergy and development.
Now we are at the beginning of a new stage, we have been preparing for it for several months, we are thinking about how to optimize and develop those services that are most needed in the community, how to attract extra-budgetary funding, how to launch permanent monitoring and evaluation mechanisms and, most importantly, how to tell Lviv residents that they are not alone,” adds Zoreslava Lyulchak. And predicts: every month about 10 thousand residents of the community will be covered by the social services of the updated “Source”.
The “Sources” team has an ambitious goal: the development and formation of a platform for social changes, in the center of which is a person. After all, every resident of the community should know that he will be taken care of in case of need.
The main goal of the association is for Lviv to become a social city in which all residents of the community who find themselves in difficult life circumstances will be able to receive the necessary information, professional support and a chance to return to a full life in a timely manner. Also, one of the priorities will be the unification of public, donor organizations and the municipality in order to increase self-help of the community and develop the social sphere, to form a platform for social changes.
Contact person for mass media: Natalka Siredjuk, head of the development department, phone: 067 774 69 20.