Participatory Multicultural Social Counselling (2009-2011)OSMOS -project funded by ESF

Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences

-Project organisations in a nutshell-Osmos project:

Participatory approach –Why Main activities -In what wayWhat will come out of the project

Aija Ahokas & Lea Moua 204/19/23

• Helsinki Metropolitan area

• 1 million inhabitants(20% of the whole population)

• Around 50 % of our immigrantslive in the metropolitan area

• Foreign citizens living permanently in Finland, 31 Dec. 2009

n= 155 660The Biggest groups:

• Russians • Estonians • Swedes • Somalis

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Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences in a nutshell

• The largest University of Applied Sciences in Finland• 15 000 students• Personnel 1100• 64 bachelor and master level degree programmes• 4 fields of study:

• Culture• Business and Administration• Health Care and Social Services• Technology and Transport

• Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa

Values

Expertise –our passion

Transparency –our operating

policy

High quality – our target

Community spirit –our source of strength

In practise…the education, research and development work carried out in co-operation with labour market

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Degree Programmes in Health Care and Social ServicesBachelor’s degrees / Tuition in Finnish

• Biomedical Laboratory Science• Dental Technology• Emergency Care• Geriatric Care/ Elderly care• Nursing• Occupational Therapy• Optometry• Oral Hygiene• Osteopathy• Physiotherapy• Podiatry• Prosthetics and Orthotics• Radiography and Radiotherapy• Social Services

Bachelor’s degrees / Tuition in English

• Nursing• Social Services

Master’s degrees /Tuition in Finnish• Health Promotion• Rehabilitation• Social Services• Health and Social Care

Development and Management

Faculty of Welfare and Human Functioning

Faculty of Health care and nursing

 Helsinki City Social Services Department

The Social Services Department Organization has five responsibilities:

• Child Day Care Services• Services for Families with Children: Family centres and

child substitute care• Adult Services • Elderly Services • Management and Development Centre Eastern Family Centre (1 out of four service districs) offers

families with children following services: social and family work, families with children home service and child welfare.   

• 4 Offices: Itäkeskus, Herttoniemi, Kivikko, and Vuosaari Offices

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1/2010

Child and Family Section

Services for Families with Children

Social Services Committee Social Services Director

Director of Services for Families

Family Counselling and Family Legal Matters

Head of Unit

Family Centre Activities

Head of Unit

Substitute CareHead of Unit

Southern

Emergency social services and crisis emergency support

Intoxicant prevention among young people

Operations and management support

Western Northern EasternFamily centres:

Regional units of family counselling:

Family legal matters

Southern-Western Northern Eastern

Family care and vacation activities

Evaluation and reception activities

Activities supporting independence

Children’s homes

Client counselling unit

Quick interference within family work

Services for Families with Children

•Play park activities, early support and home help for families with children

•Social work and family work within child welfare•Intoxicant prevention among young people: Klaari Helsinki activity and youth stations

•Emergency social services, conciliation and legal representation of youg people

•Child guidance and family counselling•Family legal matters•Children’s substitute care

Participatory approach - Why

• Immigrant families ”hard to reach”

• ”The voices of the immigrant families’ are not heard, still less taken into account, when designing policies or interventions.”

• Counselling interventions should be designed and carried out with the active participation of the immigrant families they are supposed to benefit

The aim•Support to immigrant families’ everyday life and wellbeing

•New methods and ways of working for social counselling

•New Concepts and service design

The Questions

• What are appropriate social counselling designs and methods for reaching the ‘hard to reach’ and how can they be implemented?

• How can service users and communities be involved in the design and implementation of OSMOS project?

• How can counsellors become reflexively aware of their own cultural background and do justice to the heterogeneity of migrant groups while avoiding generalisations?

• How can collaboration be built up between service users, communities, social workers, teachers, researchers and policy makers, in order to increase the effectiveness service interventions?

In What way –main activities

• The knowledge-practices Laboratory (University of Helsinki) offers a Tool for shared learning between teachers, students, social workers and counsellors as well as with clients / customers with immigrant background

• A service needs survey and critical cases (Mervi)• Community-based pilot- interventions aiming to open up

a dialogue with the immigrant families:-Group counselling sessions (5) for disadvantages somalian families empowering to make their voice heard- Group counselling sessions (5) for children

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Analyses of Critical cases

Pilot interventions

The historical roots of the current practices

Benchmarking the international practices

Practice of proactive recognition and learning

-mutual learning from diversity in connection to family life

-inclusive family counselling environment and culture

-Improved counselling processes and practices

-structural integration of diversity

Integration of best practices to mainstream

What will come out of the project…

References

• www.Metropolia.fi• Helsinki social services department

http://www.hel2.fi/social_service_department/feedback.htm• Kaija Matinheikki-Kokko, From refugee welfare to immigrants´

integration. Magazine Monitori 1/2007 http://www.monitori-lehti.fi/intermin/periodic.nsf/pid/3200716Finnish immigration services http://www.migri.fi/netcomm/content.asp?

path=2479&language=EN

For further information, please contact:Päivi Kaljonen paivi.kaljonen@metropolia.fiKaija Matinheikki-Kokko kaija.matinheikki-kokko@metropolia.fiMervi Nyman mervi.nyman@metropolia.fiPaula Pesonen paula.pesonen@hel.fi

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04/19/23 OSMOS15

Thank you for your attention.

Whatever it is that we call reality, we participate in it’s construction. (I Prigogine)