The project deals with the problem of the transition of young adults from institutional care to independent living. We provide shared living in the flat house, where each flat is shared by one student and one young adult from institutional care. We want to show that the combination of certitude given by shared living, the possibility of new relationships, or integration into the labor market will lead the target group to take responsibility for their own lives.

We bring the young adults and students from the whole Czech Republic to Brno, Czech Republic.

The problem of the transition of young adults from institutional care (children ́s homes and types of substitute family care) to independent living is not sufficiently addressed in the Czech Republic. The starting position of these young people is considerably disadvantaged compared with other peers - they lack sufficient social bonds and supportive networks of contacts, they have no financial security, inadequate qualifications, naive ideas about the labor market. This group is at risk of social exclusion, and a large percentage of these people even end up on the streets. In the Czech Republic, there is not yet an effective tool to address this issue and deal with it at the system level.

The project provides shared housing for young adults from institutional care and university students. Thanks to the connection of two different groups of young people, different social bubbles intersect and are mutually enriched. At the same time, we involve the academic sphere in the project and find out the real impact of this innovative idea, gradually establish cooperation with non-profit organizations working with the same target group, and try to involve political actors in the issue. The aim is also to draw the general public's attention to insufficiently resolved issues in general. During the pilot project, there is also a great commitment of all involved project participants, which is a good prerequisite for further dissemination of the project's ideas and philosophy.

1. Stable housing - we provide shared living, where each flat is shared by one student and one young adult from institutional care.
2. Individual work - mentors and psychotherapeutic are available in the house. We offer individual or group therapy and self-development activities.
3. Building relationships - the vision of the project is to create long-term relationships between young adults, students, and mentors.
4. Integration to the labor market - we help to the young adults to find their first work experience.
5. We want to develop methodology in a long term perspective and spread the concept of shared housing to other cities in the Czech Republic.
5. We would like to support public discussion, run advocacy activities, present project results to promote the idea of shared housing.

The next year of the project will focus more on empowering disadvantaged groups, so that young adults themselves are able to define their needs and fight for the improvement of not only the transition from children's homes, but the need for changes in institutional care in the Czech Republic. An evaluation of the project will take place over the next year to clearly measure its impact. A more detailed methodology for working with the target group will be created and, in cooperation with partners, an analysis of the needs of the target group will be created. After a year of operation, a decision will be made as to whether the project is a suitable solution to this issue and there will be a gradual spread to other places in the Czech Republic.

The aim of the project is to increase the autonomy of the target group, its position in society, and the labor market by strengthening:
a) social capital (connecting with students)
b) human capital (thanks to intensive individual mentoring and targeted self-development activities)
c) economic capital (thanks to affordable housing and adaptation to the labor market).
That will lead the target group to autonomy and the ability to define their own needs and participation in finding solutions to fulfill them. Another goal of the project is to entrust and educate advocacy workers who will be able to spread similar activities in other places and promote a change in systemic care in the transition of young people from institutional care to independent living.

We believe that if we want to strengthen society (towards democracy and independent life), we must first strengthen its weaker links. According to surveys, almost 50% of young adults leaving children's homes end up as homeless.
We work with strong stories of people who have gone through double injuries - rejection by their own family and severe injuries from poor quality care in the children's home.
We work with people whose basic emotional bond has been broken, but we still believe that it is the relationship and time that can heal these wounds. We want to be a support on the path to our own lives.

1. Salaries (Mentor I., Mentor II., Project manager, Consultant/metodic I, Consultant/metodic II., Expert guarantor, Lecturers, Cleaners ) 33 653 EUR
2. Administrative costs (day-to-day costs, phone, internet, stamps, bank charges, etc) 6 922 EUR.
3. Premises (rent, water, heating, electricity etc. necessary for the project) 9 041 EUR.

We also try to obtain funding from other public sources, both by individual and corporate fundraising.

We will be happy to learn about similar projects and organizations that work with the same target group. We will be happy to establish contact with other interested parties. We want to learn more about advocacy and place the project in the context of the whole of Europe.