ESC: Volunteering in South Italy in a housing community for at-risk boys

Walden Institute was born in 1993 as “Social Psycho-Pedagogical Center for people with disabilities and exclusion issues”. The idea comes from the contact of a young teacher with problematic teenagers (hardship, marginalization and delinquency). Starting its journey of growth and experience, the association organises seminars and training courses for teachers in collaboration with other teachers and lecturers from prestigious foundations and universities. Walden Institute obtained the accreditation with the Regional Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Vocational Training, activating several courses of Vocational Training like "Operators handicapped workers", "Processing of Ceramic Handicap" "The orientation of the curriculum and the profession" and "The internationalization of the production system." In 2002, Walden Institute opened the first "Housing Community for Minors" in the town of Menfi. As a result of the growing need registered in the territory to accommodate disadvantaged children, the second "Housing Community for Minors" was born in 2003 and, in 2004, a third "Housing Community for Minors" was also created. From 2004 until today, Walden Institute managed the Ludoteca, a three-year long project in the municipality of Menfi. This project is aimed at children aged 8 to 14 years. Since 2006, the cooperative operates in the town of Sciacca, managing the fourth "Housing Community for Minors." In 2008, Walden Institute managed the project "Prevention in favour of young preteens and teenagers from Social Health District No. 7 of Sciacca," due to psychoactive substance used among the underage people of the population, with the aim of involving the whole community against this problem. In 2009 the "House of Hospitality for Expectant women, Mothers and Women in difficulty" was founded in Sciacca. In the same year the Cooperative, to be able to respond to an ever-increasing need in the area, is credited at the Regional Department of Family and Social Policy, Health Care for helping elderly people and people with mental, physical and sensory disabilities. In 2011 the cooperative opened a new house for minors, both boys and girls. It is a space designed for them to grow in a safe environment, toward a path of increasing autonomy, under the continuous support of the educators. In recent years, the cooperative has specialized itself in integration work of disadvantaged people, people with experiences of abuse and addiction, and women and men with prison experience. Today it is specializing further in the socio-medical sector, managing, in partnership with the local consortium Sol.co the so called Pon Inclusione and carrying out research in the socio-medical and health fields. In cooperation with the consortium Sol.co, Walden has started also being active into Europlanning, developing projects targeting youth and the Civil Society, funded by the EU, through the so-called Development Office (Ufficio Sviluppo). In 2019 Walden has opened the new “Proximity Center” in Canicattì, which wants to be an innovative space with the aim of supporting people in context vulnerability of the local community. The cooperative continues to design and deliver training interventions aimed at both cooperators of the third sector and profit companies of the territory, with the collaboration of faculty experts, academics and professionals from the different disciplines covered by the courses. Today the organization has a strong experience, the result of strong professional identity and unity of all the staff in that time has succeeded, being able to adapt to different situations and changing. It has always operated in social work foregrounding the knowledge, the experience of everyday life, in order to remove obstacles and thus strengthen and consolidate the various cognitive processes and training. We would like to continue our hosting experience, receiving ESC volunteers in: our "House of Hospitality for Expectant women, Mothers and Women in difficulty” in Sciacca our “Housing Community for Minors” in Menfi