400th Anniversary of the Vincentian Charism – ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me…’
The Depaul Group would like to submit two such initiatives on behalf of their respective organizations; Depaul France, Depaul Ireland, Depaul Slovakia, Depaul Ukraine, Depaul UK and Depaul USA.
- Depaul Group response to the refugee/displaced people crisis in Ukraine
- Depaul Group roll-out of the Philosophy of Care training – subtitled ‘Welcome to the Stranger’.
Depaul Group response to the refugee/displaced people crisis in Ukraine
Depaul Ukraine will develop a project to provide safe refuge for families and individuals displaced by the current conflict in the East of the country. The project will be funded and supported by all subsidiaries in the Depaul Group.
Currently, there are over 1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ukraine, more than 200,000 of whom are in Kharkiv and around 40,000 of whom are in Odessa. Many of these people arrive in crisis and are homeless. The number of IDPs currently using our services in these two cities has grown rapidly in the last few months.
Depaul Ukraine will develop a project to provide safe refuge for families and individuals who end up in this situation. The aim will be to work with the most vulnerable of this group offering them a safe haven where they can start to come to terms with the trauma they have suffered as well as providing practical assistance with finding documents and looking for work.
The team is currently looking for an appropriate building(s). The money will be raised by all subsidiaries in the Depaul Group. Depending on the amount of money available (which will be determined in the next few months) they will consider purchasing a small house in the suburbs of Kharkiv which could cater for a small number of families or a larger project that could house 20 to 40 people at one time. At the lower end, the costs would be in the region of $30,000 dollars and for a larger project up to $100,000 dollars.
The Depaul Group has supported the concept and detailed proposals are being worked up to agree on the fundraising target. The aim will be to have the project up and running by the end of 2017.
Depaul Group roll-out of the Philosophy of Care training – subtitled ‘Welcome the Stranger’
The Depaul Group Philosophy of Care Training Programme (“Welcome the Stranger”) addresses how we can best support those in need, who we encounter in the course of our work.
During 2016/2017 this new programme will be rolled out across the Group, linked to the 400th Anniversary. The training sessions will be retitled ‘Welcome the Stranger’ to reflect that our key message in our philosophy of care statement relates to ‘welcome’ and hospitality.
Train the trainers sessions will be held for staff in all Depaul subsidiaries (Depaul France, Depaul Ireland, Depaul Slovakia, Depaul Ukraine, Depaul UK, Depaul USA) over the next six months, with the ultimate aim of being able to cascade training sessions for all staff locally by the end of 2017.
It is proposed that, as a visible means of recognizing projects where staff has been trained, they prominently display a certificate that includes the wording of our Philosophy of Care Welcome statement and the date the training took place.
