TOMY is a multidisciplinary local primary healthcare unit – and a Community Centre that supports vulnerable individuals in the city of Patras.  Established in March 2018 as part of the response to the pandemic, these two ESF-funded projects continue to provide critical support in the area.

The projects aid with vaccination and testing, and also give community healthcare services to SOS villages – which provide extra care for vulnerable children – and similar institutions. The Director for Europe 2020 Employment Policies at the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, Ms Barbara Kauffmann, acknowledged the work of the two ESF projects in Greece during a visit as part of the Regional Growth Conference in Patras, Greece. 

A Roma branch and a social grocery had been added to the Community Centre in 2021, reinforcing its capacity with nine additional staff members. In total, the projects provide support to more than eight thousand people. During her visit, Director Kauffmann spoke with the staff at the TOMY (Primary Healthcare unit) who informed about the unit’s support to healthy communities in the region.

The stopover comes in conjunction with dialogues at the conference that detail the challenges of advancing employment and social cohesion in regions – particularly in light of the pandemic and ongoing war in Ukraine. The visit also puts a spotlight on Greece’s submission of the 2021-2027 Human resources and Social Cohesion Programme and policy reforms, which include a recent vocational education and training reform and the ongoing Public Employment Services reform, as well as the targets set by Greece in the framework of the EU 2030 headline targets.