St.Petri Kinder- und Jugendhilfe and Stiftung Alten Eichen both base on a long tradition in the field of children and young adult welfare in Bremen. They provide various offers and services in their parts of the city as well as allover Bremen. Please visit the following websites for more information about history and fields of work: www.alten-eichen.de and www.stpetribremen.de.
In the following, three projects will be introduced. Those are to be found in the fields of a) „Learning“ and b) “Integration“.


1. Kompetenzagentur („Competence Agency“= CA) Bremen Ost "PickUp"

The CA exists since December 2006. It runs within a restricted time frame – in a second granted period until 31 August 2009. 45% of the financing is based on ESF-funds. Co-financing derives from funds for youth welfare, our own resources from our youth facilities as well as from employment promotion funds. "PickUp" employs a social worker and a teacher with each 40 hours/week, an administrative employee with 20 hours/week, as well as the head of the project with 5 hours/week.

Aims and Schwerpunkte
CA focuses with an individual approach on exceptionally disadvantaged young people and young adults at the threshold of their life. One of the main points is the work with young migrant people. What is special with “Pick Up“ is the “low-level-access“, which helps to get into contact with those young people who seek to develop new outlooks on life after having finished compulsory schooling.




The concept is based on 3 pillars:

• on the “locating/visiting approach“ (aufsuchende Arbeit); contacting and relation building in youth facilities und meeting places in the district

• on the work with and within schools, especially in final grades of lower secondary schools and technical schools

• as well as on individual support (casemanagement).

"PickUp" aims at an individual integration on the social and professional level, where services in the areas of consulting, support and placement are offered. By using the “locating/visiting approach“, the CA seeks to develop a network combined with a so-called transition management. By being integrated into a network, deficits in supply shall be located and suggestions for their removal being made.

Activities (Umsetzung)
“locating/visiting approach“:
Getting in contact with young people mainly occurred through youth facilities. Colleagues working in those facilities support first contacts by accompanying and leading single people. Through combining work in schools with the “locating/visiting approach“ in the youth facilities, the same young people are reached in both places. This has in fact a double effect in terms of contacting.
Additonally, the two colleagues are to be found in famous places all around the quarter:
in the shopping center, at lakes, in parks, at youth events as well as in educational training centers.
Furthermore, "VAJA e.V." (Streetworkprojekt: „Verein für akzeptierende aufsuchende Jugendarbeit“) supports the project by contacting cliques in the communities of Hemelingen, Neue Vahr and Tenever.
80% of all clients were reached through the “locating/visiting approach“.

Working in schools
Originally, CA-case manager visited those schools the project had cooperation with regularly. They especially contacted final grade students. In the now running period, the main focus of the work in schools has changed. Within the new guidelines of the project initiator, this “preventive“ approach is no longer part of the CA-mission. Instead, the case manager now holds regular information sessions in the final grades to promote the project.

Quite essential when implementing the project in schools, is the support of the school's job-advisors (guidance officers) and social workers. 20% of all clients were contacted in the schools. The CA was – due to it's conception – mainly working with final grades in standard schools (Regelschulen) and technical schools (Berufsfachschulen). In cooperation with the schools it also organised events concerning life orientation and career planning.

Casemanagement
Casemanagement (CM) incorporates those young people, whose disadvantages are extraordinary. In cooperation with the participant, an individual support plan is created after the first conversation. This might include elements concerning career planning, life planning or the acquisition of social skills. One example would be someone addicted to drugs who is offered (and keeps) a consulting appointment, while he or she at the same time tries to stabilise his or her life, e.g. by getting a job. To strengthen the client's abilities, a continued company by the CA is necessary concerning possible questions, positive feedback or to avoid a dropout of a measure. This happens also within the scope of an individually planned post-care program. As problems only appear after a certain time, the duration of someone's stay is arranged individually. Still, most of the young people were directly passed on, without being included in CM – also due to the high number of participants. This was successful in most of the cases.
Since 2008, all data of all participants is electronically saved by the CA and is subject to a central monitoring.

Networking
"PickUp"-networking is labeled by contacts and cooperation with various partners:
In the context of casemanagement: different social institutions dealing with career planning and debt counseling, also job agencies, drug consulting, schools, social facilities etc. (Agentur für Arbeit, Berufsberatung, BAgIS (ARGE), Schulen, Jugendeinrichtungen, soziale Einrichtungen, z. B. Drogenberatung, Schuldnerberatung, Ausbildungsbetriebe, "Aktiv für Osterholz e. V.", Jobvermittler).
Taking part in committees and working groups: various regional groups such as AG Jugend, AK Tenever, AK Jugend Hemelingen, Stadtteilgruppensitzungen, WiN-Forum Hemelingen, AG Jugendberufshilfe.
Accompanying group of the CA and advisory board: Here, in exchange with the various partners the need as well as the “support gaps“ that appear during the transition from school to profession are to be determined and the work of the CA directed (advisory board). This is accompanied by proxies of the job agency, the board of trade, the minister for work, women, health, youth and social issues, the minister for education and science, minor exchange (regional councils), and advisory boards of the participating quarters, schools, youth facilities, social facilities and members of the regional economy (Verein „Aktiv für Osterholz e. V.“)

2. MEB – Advising migrating adults

Since March 2007, St. Petri and Alten Eichen offer MEB – Migrationserstberatung (first consultation) for new immigrants in East-Bremen, according to the rules of the new immigration law (2005).

Aims, tasks and way of work:
MEB is a basic element of the national “concept of integration“ of the German government. It's aim is to support new immigrants and their families in the processes of integrating themselves into society – based on their individual and cultural identity.
The main focus of the consultation lies in the placement of German language courses, as learning German is a basic element for integration, as well concerning the social as the working aspect. To guarantee a successful completion, the participants are constantly accompanied socially and led into further measures.

The person accompanying the participant also works actively in the communal networks and he or she also initiates new networks in the district to create a better supply of the families.
She is one of the main reasons for the fact, that social facilities open themselves for the need of migrants. She supports an intercultural opening of all facilities towards the need of migrants and promotes mutual acceptance and tolerance.
MEB accompanies immigrants using the case-management method. This means the development of an individual „plan of integration“, which fixes certain aims within a certain time period, such as participating in a German language class, organisation of children's care or health care. MEB also supports the implementation of the agreed targets.

Target group: Adults with migration background older than 27, who have a temporary residence, are within the target group of MEB. Those are e.g.: (so-called) resettlers (Spätaussiedlerinnen und Spätaussiedler) and their family members, currently immigrated people, as well as those migrants who although they have already been living in Bremen for a while, still need support. MEB also accompanies refugees, who have been granted a current status (”Bleiberecht”).

This is meant to be a first information about our cooperation within the project "without barriers". Soon, we will be reporting about newly gained experiences and knowledge.

3. The youth centre (or youth club) is located in a predominantly well off district called Horn-Lehe in Bremen, Germany. However there’s a part of Horn-Lehe which can be considered a social hot spot. The youth centre resides in the centre of this rather deprived area, where a lot of single parents, unemployed people and people with migration background live.

The youth centre Horn-Lehe is a preventive, low threshold service for children and young adults between 8 and 22 years. It is the only leisure time facility of its kind in the whole district. The centre opens five days a week (Mon – Fri) from four to eight o’clock in the evening. Three part-time social worker are running the centre (two female, one man). An average of 30 to 50 young people visits the youth club daily. Many of them have either Polish or Russian migration background. A few of the young people have for example a Persian or Turkish background.

The youth centre is equipped with multiple sports facilities such as a small sports hall, a room for dancing and a small soccer field in front of the house. Tabletop football, a pool table as well as video game facilities can also be found in the youth club.
Besides the general leisure time facilities a wide range of courses and workshops, such as hip-hop dancing, airbrush, stilts, circus, animated cartoon and DJ-ing conducted by external professionals, is offered to the youth.

The youth centre Horn-Lehe is not only a place where young people can meet, chat and have fun, but also a place where they can experience themselves, learn from and with each other and get in touch with professionals who are open to listen to them and offer them low threshold counselling. Especially drug and alcohol abuse, violence and school drop outs are common problems among the youth centre’s visitors. The young people are assisted with school work and writing applications. Furthermore they find support with future planning and career guidance.

In everyday situations, such as group-work, collective cooking activities and soccer games the young people learn under professional guidance how to interact with people of different age, background and nationality. In excursions and cultural projects they are continuously encouraged to engage in cultural expression in various forms. As an example one of the team members produces rap-songs with a couple of youth.

All in all young people are assisted to find there own way, to respect and value themselves as well as others and develop a positive attitude towards life.

3. The youth centre (or youth club)
It is located in a predominantly well off district called Horn-Lehe in Bremen, Germany. However there’s a part of Horn-Lehe which can be considered a social hot spot. The youth centre resides in the centre of this rather deprived area, where a lot of single parents, unemployed people and people with migration background live.

The youth centre Horn-Lehe is a preventive, low threshold service for children and young adults between 8 and 22 years. It is the only leisure time facility of its kind in the whole district. The centre opens five days a week (Mon – Fri) from four to eight o’clock in the evening. Three part-time social worker are running the centre (two female, one man). An average of 30 to 50 young people visits the youth club daily. Many of them have either Polish or Russian migration background. A few of the young people have for example a Persian or Turkish background.

The youth centre is equipped with multiple sports facilities such as a small sports hall, a room for dancing and a small soccer field in front of the house. Tabletop football, a pool table as well as video game facilities can also be found in the youth club.
Besides the general leisure time facilities a wide range of courses and workshops, such as hip-hop dancing, airbrush, stilts, circus, animated cartoon and DJ-ing conducted by external professionals, is offered to the youth.

The youth centre Horn-Lehe is not only a place where young people can meet, chat and have fun, but also a place where they can experience themselves, learn from and with each other and get in touch with professionals who are open to listen to them and offer them low threshold counselling. Especially drug and alcohol abuse, violence and school drop outs are common problems among the youth centre’s visitors. The young people are assisted with school work and writing applications. Furthermore they find support with future planning and career guidance.

In everyday situations, such as group-work, collective cooking activities and soccer games the young people learn under professional guidance how to interact with people of different age, background and nationality. In excursions and cultural projects they are continuously encouraged to engage in cultural expression in various forms. As an example one of the team members produces rap-songs with a couple of youth.

All in all young people are assisted to find there own way, to respect and value themselves as well as others and develop a positive attitude towards life.