TANGRAM SOCIETA' COOPERATIVA SOCIALE A RESPONSABILITA' LIMITATA

Tangram Cooperative has been established by a group of associates – educators, trainers and volunteers – that “became” cooperative in July 1997, building it on mutuality principles and with not for profit aims. The Cooperative puts the recognition of human being dignity with no discrimination of race, culture, status, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical condition, faith and religion as the basis of its work. The more continuative services are the following: The educative Community “Contrà Fascina”. It is a live-in community, hosting girls from 10 to 18 years old (extendable till 21) which are in disadvantaged situations because of abandoning and general difficulties linked to familiar and psycho-physical discomforts. Girls hosted also include not accompanied foreign minors. The community is lead with a model of family style living, where girls live together under supervision and with assistance of experienced staff. Contrà Fascina takes care of these girls by supporting their daily needs, providing medical, psychological care, ensuring their physical and intellectual development, giving them useful skills, thus preparing them for independent life in future when becoming adults. Ideally, living there should fully substitute living in the normal family. The educative team is composed by one professional educator coordinator, three further educators and supporting volunteers. The service is part of the Municipality plan and the Cooperative has enlarged its service also to other local bodies and public health units. The so-called “intermediate paths to work”, in cooperation with the Social Cooperative Insieme. This initiative is addressed to underage (included some guests of the community) and adult people (often coming from the municipality mental health service, so affected by light mental disabilities) in need of being accompanied and oriented on job-related issues. It is offered the opportunity to work in a “protected” environment, so to get ready to enter the job market with some improved skills. This action is aimed to prevent youth discomfort and recover cases of school drop-out, as well as to re-educate adults at the job rules (respecting hierarchies, breaks, hours, tasks, deadlines, etc.). Job is definitely used as an educational mean. The so-called "Autonomy area", which implies the educative work with fragile families, in need of socio-economic assistance. These families are hosted in Tangram apartments, in cooperation with local Social Services, and are followed with and educative plan aimed at accompany them to a self-independency (help in job search, in house search, in taking care of eventual children, etc.) Activities linked to the so-called “Youth area”, which is a new branch of joint projects in cooperation with the Social Cooperative Insieme. It implies the promotion of projects addressed to youth, on different areas. Examples: the project “Social Day”, aiming at sensitising young people (both through schools and through informal youth groups) in volunteering, so to involve them in a process in which they feel that their individual action can have big impact for the society wealth (http://www.socialday.org/); the project "Scarpe_diem - Cogli l'ottimo" aiming at contrasting the early school leaving (es. https://percorsiconibambini.it/scarpediem/) Since 2008 the staff team is working on actions of sensitisation about developing an "educative community" in the whole local territory. ESC volunteers can be asked to take part in sensitisation events in schools and local community associations, by helping the staff in all practical arrangements and in running the events (i.e. reading stories used as samples, spending time with children during some sessions of the event only addressed to parents, be present in the cooperative stand, etc.).