The municipality designed and implements in Chisinau a number of social programs that support the families. They focus on policies to prevent the separation of children from their families, social protection policies for vulnerable families and the elderly, occupational policies and protection of employees in the labor market, but also policies to prevent and combat domestic violence, IPN reports.
One of the programs comes to support long-living couples from Chisinau. The Chisinau City Hall provides 5,700 lei in financial support to couples that marked the 50th wedding anniversary, 7,500 lei to couples who celebrated the 60th anniversary of their marriage and 10,000 lei to those who celebrated the 70th anniversary of their marriage.
The local authorities also promote health and social assistance policies centered on vulnerable families in the municipality, including families with many children, single-parent families, children with disabilities, etc. Food services are provided. For example, nearly 100 families benefited last year from hot lunches. Also, with the support of partners, humanitarian assistance was offered to about 8,000 vulnerable families.
The mobile team provided social services, such as counseling, recovery and psychosocial rehabilitation at the home of people with disabilities, as well as counseling and support to family members, people involved in the process of their inclusion.
Day social services are also provided in the capital city within the START and ADIR centers. Here, support is offered to families that include adult children with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders to improve self-service and independence skills. Integrated specialized support services are also provided to people living with HIV and their families.
In Chisinau, guidance services are offered to people without permanent residence. Annually, services are provided to about 500 homeless people within the Hosting and Orientation Center, of whom 30% annually are integrated into the family.
The municipality also implements financial support programs for vulnerable families. Material aid is provided based on requests and assessed needs, as well as through special purpose programs – for families raising and educating minor children with disabilities, families with many children, single-parent families. Annually, about 8,000 children from disadvantaged families are prepared for the school year. Also, on the occasion of a number of public holidays, material aid is provided to parents with children with special educational needs. Through another program, the Chisinau City Hall ensures the granting of 2,000 lei in financial support at the birth of children.
At the same time, the Chisinau City Hall placed special emphasis on the prevention of the separation of children from families by developing a series of social services that support families in difficulty and children at risk. The created, developed and consolidated services are a prompt and targeted response to the needs of Chisinau families and children who are in a situation of difficulty or risk.