The EU project “A Way Home”, in which the province of Carinthia is a partner, was launched in Brussels in April 2018. The aim was and is to improve the situation of young people shortly before they leave care within the framework of child and youth welfare, or after they have left care. These care leavers are a particularly disadvantaged group, as they are left to their own devices after reaching the age of majority.
For this target group, strategies have been developed on how the transition to independent living can be better organized. Corresponding pilot tests were carried out in the regions of Carinthia and Flanders. In the concrete case, care leavers should be able to fall back on a social network of stakeholders after the end of their care and if necessary, as well as be prepared for an independent life in the best possible way already within the framework of care.
In Carinthia, Villach acted as a pilot region and the Diakonie de la Tour coordinated part of the activities and is mainly responsible for the involvement of the actual target group, the care leavers. Workshops were held for care institutions to test methods that can ensure high-quality and individually tailored preparation for young adults. The young adults concerned were also involved throughout the project and their wishes and problems were discussed and heard.
Currently, the tested methods are being evaluated and suitable documents and accompanying materials are being prepared, which will be available to the child and youth welfare institutions as well as all other institutions involved.