“PROMAS” — Mãos Solidárias Project

Rationale

Given the country's economic situation, the consequences are well known: unemployment and social exclusion. At the same time, the job market keeps becoming more demanding, marginalizing people without professional qualifications. In an effort to ease this situation, PAS created PROMAS, aimed at encouraging job and income generation, upskilling participants and, during this transition period, providing comprehensive family support and helping to improve overall living conditions. The semi-professional activities and the socializing that comes from working in a group strengthen friendships, boost participants' self-esteem, and relieve stress. Whole families grow stronger and happier through the participant, who becomes an agent for spreading the knowledge gained in the project.

Type of service

“Assistance” and “Guarantee of Rights.”

Service name

Basic Social Protection (protection, comprehensive family support, and income generation).

Coverage

Municipal.

Location

Rua Enrico Dell'Acqua, 102 — Centro — São Roque, SP, Brazil (headquarters of CML — Corporação Musical Liberdade).

Operation

• Day and time: Wednesdays, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM.
• People served: 40, over the course of a year.

Users

Women (mothers or not) facing personal or social vulnerability or risk, referred by PAE — Emergency Assistance Project, the Guardianship Council, the courts, government agencies, ordinary citizens, or who reach out to PAS on their own.

Overall goal

To strengthen the family structure in every way, with a focus on empowering and achieving independence for the family unit.

Specific goals

• Provide emergency support when needed;
• Enable income generation and/or occupational therapy through semi-professional activities;
• Encourage the exercise of citizenship and better quality of life;
• Foster integration between project participants and the community they live in.

Implementation and strategies

• Referring cases to services already available in the municipality;
• Psycho-pedagogical support (by volunteer professionals), aimed at education for work and self-understanding (origins and future outlook), seeking to boost self-esteem;
• PROMAS runs every Wednesday from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM at the Banda Liberdade headquarters, serving up to 40 families for 12 months. At the end of a year, participants may be discharged or continue for another period;
• Offering monthly socio-educational talks led by specialists on childcare, household budgeting, consumer rights, accident prevention, citizenship, hygiene, cooking, and STI/HIV prevention, along with activities that build awareness and connection through music and group dynamics;
• Teaching a variety of handicrafts (crochet, knitting, sewing, wood painting, decoupage, embroidery, macramé, jewelry-making, etc.);
• Adult literacy classes at three levels (currently suspended due to a lack of volunteers);
• Eye and dental checkups by volunteer professionals;
• At the end of each year, part of the profit from selling handicrafts at the Christmas Bazaar may be shared among the participants being discharged from the project (the handicrafts sold at the bazaars are made by project participants and PAS volunteers).

Resources

• Human: volunteers (1 coordinator, 1 literacy teacher, 20 volunteers for handicrafts).
• Financial: donations from individuals, businesses, and events.
• Material: funded with our own resources.

Monitoring and evaluation

• Monitoring is carried out by the project coordinator through monthly records of attendance, activities, and participation, along with a semiannual report following home visits by PAS volunteers;
• Evaluation is carried out by the team of volunteers, partners, and participants, taking into account personal satisfaction and relationships with family, neighbors, and the broader community;
• The team evaluates each participant to decide on discharge after 12 months or continued participation for another period.

Note: we recognize mothers who stand out in the program's activities by inviting them to assist the volunteer in charge.

Buying a handicraft item puts income directly in the hands of a mother we support.