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July 6th, 2008
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Second chances

Projekt Šance gives hope to youth, adults looking to turn their lives around

By Curtis M. Wong
For The Prague Post
May 14th, 2008 issue

VLADIMÍR WEISS/THE PRAGUE POST
Lukáš, above, is learning new job skills and meeting friends at Projekt Šance.
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VLADIMÍR WEISS/THE PRAGUE POST
Projekt Šance founder László Sümegh says he hopes to foster a sense of community here.
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Projekt Šance, o.s.


Ve Smečkách 28
Prague 1
Tel.: 222 211 797
E-mail:
info@sance.info
Web:
www.sance.info

Lukáš, a Prague native, left home at age 17, hoping to establish a better life for himself away from his parents. But sustaining an independent lifestyle wasn’t as smooth as he’d hoped. Instead, he soon found himself dealing with debt, drug abuse and girlfriend troubles, which quickly left him homeless and without work.
These days, however, life has been steadily improving for Lukáš, now 28. As a participant in Projekt Šance, a Prague-based day rehabilitation program for homeless young adults, he’s able to learn job skills, meet new friends and even earn some extra money. He’s been communicating with his parents regularly, and, although his past experiences have kept him modest, he says he’s hopeful for the future.    
“I don’t plan ahead for the future, I live from day to day,” Lukáš says. “I have certain dreams and wishes, but they often don’t materialize. What I want is just to be healthy and to just appreciate life.”
Lukáš is only one of the program’s many young — and overwhelmingly male — participants who got involved with Projekt Šance in hopes of creating a life for themselves away from the harsh streets of Prague. When they leave the program at 5 p.m. each day, some participants return to temporary beds in local hostels or shelters, while others say they sleep in empty buildings nearby. Personal circumstances differ. Some were abandoned by their well-to-do families, while others come from state-run orphanages and have never met their biological parents. Most lack formal education and job skills and, more often than not, have resorted to prostitution as a means of income, program officials report.
Founder László Sümegh says Projekt Šance’s mission is to foster a sense of community and improve participants’ personal conditions, from day-to-day hygiene to re-establishing themselves in society. It differs from similar programs in that it emphasizes self-sufficiency. In addition to daily group therapy discussions and recreational activities, involvement in work projects, like assembling pens or holiday decorations, is encouraged, and each participant is taught to strive for independence as a long-term goal, Sümegh says.  
“The main problem with a lot of charity organizations and state-run institutions [that deal with similar issues] is that they often produce a lot of social parasites and freeloaders,” Sümegh says. “With a lot of those organizations, many adapt to the feeling that they can receive everything for free, and they start getting used to having things given to them ready-made. In our program, we want to teach these young adults how to take care of themselves … and to understand the positive or negative consequences of their actions.”
Despite the program’s emphasis on the city’s youth, Sümegh says that no one is turned away, as involvement is voluntary and anonymous. The program also strives to spread awareness of Czech homelessness issues, he says.
“Everyone here has a different background or sometimes no background at all,” he says. “Everyone adjusts to life’s circumstances in a different way. Many people are misinformed and unaware of how big a problem this is in the Czech Republic.”
In keeping with the Projekt Šance motto, all participants are responsible for their own actions between the program’s operating hours of 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. While everyone is allowed to decorate their workstation to suit their own tastes, they are expected to keep their areas well maintained and clean. E-mail access costs 10 Kč for a limited time. Refreshments must be bought and paid for by participants. For instance, if they run out of supplies such as coffee or sugar, funds must be raised from their wages to buy more.
And, while their earnings aren’t immense, Sümegh says the personal merit extends beyond monetary value.   
“This is really a big change for the squatters,” he says. “Their priorities change; they start to think in a very different way. Without thinking about it or noticing it, they’re able to start managing their own lives. That’s what’s most important.”  
Of course, it isn’t all work and no play for Project Šance participants. There are regular trips to Prague Zoo and other recreation areas. Each year, Sümegh plans a weeklong holiday for everyone at a cottage in the mountains. Holiday and birthday celebrations are held. At the Prague 5 location, weekly movie screenings are also quite popular, with comedies and animated films often topping the list of requests — “they’re exposed to enough reality on the streets already,” Sümegh adds.
In addition, health and personal wellness are big priorities. Daily group therapy sessions focus on a variety of interpersonal topics and occasionally include guests such as local actors, artists and psychologists. All participants are provided with regular HIV and hepatitis screenings, as well as dental exams, at a local clinic.
Relying on government funding as well as private donations, Sümegh founded the Projekt Šance program in 1995 at a location in Prague 1. The second location opened in Prague 5 in 2003.
Sümegh says several of the program’s participants have made remarkable strides, with some pairing up to rent apartments together and helping each other find permanent work.  
Unfortunately, for every success story, Sümegh has also witnessed several failures, despite repeated attempts at rehabilitation.  
Describing his job as the program’s primary social worker and mentor as “often hard but very rewarding,” Sümegh says that his passion for the project came naturally.
“I come from a background where it was considered unnatural not to care for others,” he says. “Some say it’s a blessing, others say it’s a curse. It’s a lot of work, but I decided that this is what I want to do. If it’s your personal choice, you can’t feel burned out.”
— Naďa Černá contributed to this report.  

Curtis M. Wong can be reached at specialsection@praguepost.com


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