Toma is in his 40s and suffers from epilepsy due to which he is not able to find regular employment. He lives on €50 per month and whilst he does have accommodation – inherited from his grandmother – he does live in very precarious circumstances. Gaps in legal structures mean that Toma is currently not able to receive regular social benefits which result in him being at a constant risk of becoming homeless. The system is complicated to navigate and Toma currently lacks some crucial documents which make it difficult to change his situation. To survive, he collects empty plastic bottles everyday – walking the streets at night
or in the early hours of the morning. During the day he comes to our day centre to get meals and has been a regular visitor.
One day he came to receive help in managing his situation. Through counselling and legal advice, Toma now understands his situation better and we are working with him to find ways to speed up the processes around his social benefits. He now has started to spend more time at the day centre, using the reading room and socialising with other clients, talking more openly about his situation and building a social network. In the future, we will support him in his job searching activities and soon, Toma will use the IT facilities to find employment that he will be able to do despite his condition.
Increasing employability, individual mentoring and involving clients in Depaul Croatia’s regular activities has already brought good results. We hope for Toma, too.
