OLÁH ROLAND (BUDAPEST)
Project Manager, Head of the Workshop Club of the Shelter Foundation
He has been doing social work for many years with young people living in or leaving state care, who are cumulatively disadvantaged. His work is based on long-term trust and continuous personal presence. He does not provide campaign-like help, but creates a predictable relationship in which young people can have a chance to develop without prejudice.
As the head of the Workshop Club, he supports participants with mentoring, sports, teamwork, and community programs. On average, six young people participate in the programs on weekdays and eight on weekends and during breaks, and external events provide additional opportunities for social connection. Currently, sixteen young adults receive personalized mentoring.
The results of the program can be measured in concrete steps towards independent living: according to the nomination materials, ten participants are working, two live in supported housing, one of them has obtained a driver's license, and three have taken up work abroad. Its activities provide self-confidence, responsibility, and opportunities for social integration for young people who are particularly exposed to stigma and marginalization. Its work builds a supportive community instead of exclusion.
For me, the most important thing in my job is – the candidate wrote
What is most important to me in my work is that when, for example, a group of ten people comes to the Workshop, everyone feels equal and valuable, and at the same time is free to be themselves. I want the time spent there to not only make us feel good, but also to have a positive impact on their lives later on.
I think conversations, exchanges of ideas, joint programs, and situations experienced together help a lot in getting to know themselves better and later being able to make more conscious decisions, for example, about relationships, further education, or work.
Of course, in reality it's not that simple. There are many arguments, conflicts, misunderstandings and failures, and I have to learn from them just as much as they do. I don't think I always have to know the answer to everything. Sometimes we have to figure out the solution together, and sometimes we have to let someone learn from their own mistakes.
For me, these difficult situations are also an important part of working together. The Workshop works well when we are not trying to create a perfect place, but a community where we can make mistakes, start over, argue, reconcile, and in the process get to know ourselves and each other a little better.