Global Reach: Past Grantees

Context:

Over 2,500 young people (14-18) living in St. Petersburg are registered with the district Juvenile Department of the Police for administrative offences and another 854 for criminal offences. A third of all 3,354 were neither in education nor in employment. An overwhelming majority of young offenders run away from dysfunctional home environments, often escaping violence, abuse or neglect. Traditionally, state services for youth who are in trouble with the law have focused on punishment rather on rehabilitation but this is slowly changing with the assistance of NGOs who are developing appropriate solutions which are then adopted and partly or wholly funded by local government.

Organization:

Doctors to Children (DTC) is an award- winning organisation offering direct health and life-skill focused programmes as well as training government and other NGO service providers in best practices to meet the needs of marginalised young people in Russia. DTC historically has offered a variety of programmes that follow a similar successful cycle: design or adapt an approach for a specific population, evaluate and refine, raise awareness and train state social workers, and work towards government uptake. In this way, DTC aims to have all of its programmes effective, sustainable and scalable. This success relies heavily on maintaining a positive relationship with local government officials. DTC’s Mature Steps programme prepares youth for successful transition to adulthood by enhancing their social skills and independent living skills and raising their awareness of their rights and responsibilities.