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European Social Fund Plus
SIM case study2022-05-11

Streetwork In Chat

In Czechia there has been a general decline in young people attending youth clubs and using youth counselling services, as they spend more of their free time on social media. Streetwork in Chat adapts youth work to the online social media environment whilst still maintaining the proactive outreach approach of physical youth work. It aims to identify and reach more, and more vulnerable, young people than online counselling services which place the onus on the individual to get the help they need. Streetwork in Chat targets young people up to 26 years old, living in both urban and rural areas across Czechia. Trained professionals look for potential clients and offer them the possibility of professional support and help. Interventions are provided in three different ways. Sharing and awareness raising through public posts, joining specific chat groups and starting conversations with young people and direct outreach through connecting with the person involved in the post through chat. So far, more than 900 interventions were provided during the realisation of the project, but the number of people reached was much larger due to the nature of social networking sites. The ambition of the project is to increase awareness not only of the general public but also the professional public and to create a base for establishing this form of youth work as legally recognised and supported by variety of stakeholders.

Case study details

Lead organisation
Tíortha
Czechia
Regions
Jihozápad
Themes
Integration of marginalised communities
Social integration of those at risk
Level of action
National
Source of funding
Private
Budget
EUR 3900/year
Programming period
N/A
Project start
2017
Type of initiative
Integrating disadvantaged groups
Rannpháirtithe
900 online interventions