Contact person for a teenager - a potential assistant in difficulties and trials of fate

3 March 2023

On March 2, employees of the World Without Borders visited the reception center for minors (the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Minsk Regional Executive Committee). Children and adolescents aged 3 to 18 who need assistance from the state, as well as juvenile delinquents and persons subjected to educational measures, are temporarily detained here.
At the time of the visit there were 3 girls and 4 boys. We managed to get to know them, talk to them, answer questions of interest to the children, play jenga, treat them with sweets, exchange contacts, be attentive interlocutors for them, able to listen and express readiness to provide any assistance. Interacting with these teenagers makes a lot of sense and helps them adapt in crisis situations.
In World Without Borders, as in many countries, a similar model of working with children called “Contact Persons” is used, which involves professional and non-professional accompaniment of the person under guardianship, based on the principles of trusting companionship. As a rule, the contact person performs a connecting role between the person under guardianship and representatives of bodies and institutions providing qualified assistance on a professional basis.