Tenant

Usługa

Senior citizens or people with disabilities living alone are often affected by isolation and social exclusion. With age, they also struggle to function independently. At the same time, many younger people who, for various reasons, look for housing cannot afford to rent an apartment at market prices.

Senior citizens or people with disabilities living alone are often affected by loneliness, isolation and social exclusion. With age, they struggle to function independently. It is also not uncommon that these people have no close connections and the support provided by social welfare centers is often insufficient. At the same time, there are many people who, for various reasons, look for housing (e.g. they are victims of domestic abuse or are at risk of homelessness) and need a safe haven or want to improve their living conditions. The innovation ‘Tenant’ solves the problem of both of these groups. The innovation connects people who have at least one vacant and furnished room with people in need of housing. In exchange for a roof over their heads, they help, spend time with their ‘landlords’ and contribute to the rent, if they can. This leads to an improvement in living conditions for both parties – the ‘tenant’ has shelter and the dependant gets support in activities of daily living. The first stage of the programme involves making the new service known by posting it on the websites of social welfare centers and informing the local media. Then, future innovation participants are selected and employees of social welfare centers talk with them about their needs, living situation and concerns about accepting people into their homes. A psychological diagnosis is also carried out and, in particular, future tenants receive first aid training and take part in workshops on, i.a., time management or interpersonal communication. In the third stage, the innovation recipients pair up to get to know one another and decide whether they want to live together. If they decide to do so, the programme coordinator visits the homes regularly and monitors the situation in order to diagnose daily needs, mediate in case of conflict, help find another participant if one of the parties chooses to resign. Each pair of innovation recipients should also be asked whether they are satisfied with the programme.

People seeking housing, willing to live with a (disabled, elderly, single) dependant Dependants with appropriate housing conditions Relatives of dependants

Social welfare centers Institutions supporting people at risk of homelessness Institutions supporting dependants

A summary of how the social innovation was implemented A guidebook for employees of social welfare centers, including: A questionnaire for a person seeking housing A questionnaire for a person offering housing A model of a consent form to participate in the programme 'Tenant' A psychological diagnosis sheet for programme candidates A sample opinion on social needs of a person looking for housing An activity and monitoring sheet An advisory service sheet A model tenancy agreement A participant declaration on submission to execution Model rules for cohabitation A model decision of the team implementing the programme ‘Tenant’

Four innovation recipients were paired – two people looking for a place to live became tenants of two dependants.

Tak

A subject specialist An inclusion specialist A psychologist A social worker A caregiver of a dependant A legal advisor An IT specialist An accountant

Apartments (of dependants participating in the innovation) Funds for remuneration of all professionals involved in the project Household items for the tenants (electrical appliances, sheets, etc.) Psychological tests for the innovation participants Publicizing the programme in the media

Podmiot prawny

Joanna Basińska, Anna Kwapisz, Bożena Kotowska of the Municipal Social Welfare Center in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski

Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski

Inkubator pomysłów [2020-23]