ESC: Short Term ESC volunteering in Youth Centre De Takel combined with Youths for Youth.

The network 'Jeugdhulp Don Bosco Vlaanderen' [Youthcare Don Bosco Vlaanderen] unites the forces of a number of services and organizations to build — inspired by Don Bosco — with young people and their living environment towards more well-being and happiness. We aim to support and strengthen vulnerable young people and the people around them in order to make them more resilient and give them more opportunities for growth and development. We pay special attention to young people who do not easily claim help. Young people and their environment are full partners for us. We approach them in their full humanity, give space to their input and speak to them about their qualities and possibilities. Based on the request for help, we strive for an optimal and at the same time feasible form of support tailored to each young person and his/her living environment. From a Christian compassion, but with respect for everyone's individuality and philosophical conviction, we place ourselves in the flow of social developments. Skilled and well-trained employees, whom we support and encourage to grow in expertise and compassion, make every effort to develop a high-quality relationship with the young people and their network. We focus on 1 organisation in our network in particular, Youthcentre De Takel. Center for youth care 'De Takel' wants to be a lever and thus carry and 'lift' children and young people, lift them and give them more opportunities in society. Important aspects are a warm welcome, respect and recognition, dialogue and reasonableness, belief in their abilities. The initiator and carrier of this youth work were and are the Salesians of Don Bosco, a congregation that works for young people all over the world. In 1988 they started 'De Takel'. In collaboration with "Jeugdhulp Don Bosco Vlaanderen", De Takel in Ostend wants to support young people through three projects. Firstly, through the Day Centre, which is responsible for guiding young people and their families. Secondly, also through crisis shelter for young people in emergency situations, and finally also through Jeugdhuis De Takel, a meeting and relaxation area for young people from the neighbourhood. The focus of this ESC project is mainly on this Youth Center. An open place creates community here and empowers young people (boys and girls) between the ages of 12 and 25. The Youth Center tries to offer young people a warm place by organizing all kinds of activities, opportunities to meet, valuable relaxation and preventive training. Young people are allowed to find and develop a Salesian 'home' and 'playground' here on a free basis. The Youth Center has between 80 and 90 different regular visitors. On normal days there are about 30, on holidays this number can rise to 40 to 45. The young people come from a number of underprivileged neighborhoods of Ostend, especially from the Westerkwartier and the Nieuwe Stad. A number of them are native Dutch youth, a large number are vulnerable migrant youth. The latter mainly come from former Eastern Bloc countries, Afghanistan, Iraq, Georgia, Albania and Syria, some from the Far East and Africa.