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A new partner for The Human Safety Net in the Czech Republic

The Human Safety Net in the Czech Republic has a new important partner for the For Families programme, the SOS Children's Villages (SOS dětskými vesničkami).

This new collaboration will focus on helping vulnerable families with children under six . The project aims to work with families at risk of child removal. The project focuses on infants and preschool children at risk of separation from their families, kids without proper attachment to their primary caregiver and parents with insufficient parenting skills who cannot create a secure bond between them and their children.

The project is based on the role of a social worker who visits the family in their home environment and helps primarily with solving the social or material situation so that the children can grow up at home. 

When working with families, social workers use the unique Big Five to Thrive model, the implementation and use of which will be directly supported in 17 locations in Bohemia and Moravia. This model is based on neuroscience and provides caregivers with practical tools to develop traumatised children properly. SOS Children's Villages is the only non-profit organisation in the Czech Republic that practices this approach. 

In addition to financial support, the cooperation will also include long-term support and assistance in the implementation of volunteer activities, the development of expert volunteering, or other material aid, as well as networking, sharing experience and know-how with other non-profit organisations that are part of the global network of assistance within The Human Safety Net initiative.

Big Five to Thrive

The Big Five to Thrive model uses insights from neuroscience and operates on five principles: react, engage, relax, play and talk. This approach is used by professionals across disciplines, for example, when working with people in different sectors, with parents, caregivers, and children themselves. Various organisations worldwide also use it to develop children and people who have experienced a traumatic experience. 

SOS Children's Villages

SOS Children's Villages is the oldest non-profit organisation helping endangered children in the Czech Republic. Their beginnings date back to the 60s when paediatricians and psychologists began to point out the shortcomings of institutional care for children without a family and the problem of emotional deprivation of these children. The Czech doctors found inspiration in the existing SOS Children's Villages in Western European countries, which were established to help children who lost their parents and homes during World War II. 


In the Czech Republic, SOS Children's Villages provides preventive field social services for families at risk of removing children, a 24-hour crisis centre for children who find themselves in danger, facilities for foster parents and the children they care for, support for young people from foster care and, training housing for vulnerable families with children.