Mrs. Pavla lives alone in a small apartment in a block of flats. She keeps in touch with her family only through her granddaughter, who is, however, very busy and travels a lot, so she cannot provide the level of help Mrs. Pavla needs.

Mrs. Pavla was no longer able to go shopping or cook her main meals, so her granddaughter contacted and started using the Care Service of Charity of České Budějovice for her grandmother. Later, Mrs. Pavla’s health worsened, and she had to spend a long time in hospital. Her condition declined so much that a hospital worker arranged for her to move to a nursing home. She stayed there for a year but was not happy — she longed to return home, and her mental health deteriorated.

At that point, her granddaughter once again reached out to Charity of České Budějovice, asking if we could help her grandmother at home with the activities she could no longer manage on her own. Together with the granddaughter, we made sure that Mrs. Pavla’s home was safe and prepared the necessary assistive devices that are essential for her daily functioning (a walker, a raised toilet seat, an overbed trapeze, etc.). On the day she came home, her lunch and groceries were already arranged according to her wishes.

Since then, Mrs. Pavla has been using our services for regular cleaning and household maintenance and for assistance with personal hygiene. We also handled all the necessary paperwork (an application for an increased care allowance and related benefits). Over time, Mrs. Pavla settled back in at home, her mental health improved, and she expressed a wish to spend time with someone — talking, going for walks, or having someone read to her. By agreement, our social worker arranged for Charity’s Personal Assistance service to visit her three times a week and spend active, meaningful time with her according to her wishes.

Mrs. Pavla is now content, because she can live with dignity in her own apartment, in an environment she has known all her life and where she feels safe.

We provide help, support, and care at agreed times in the natural home environment of people with reduced self-sufficiency and families with children whose situation requires assistance from another person. The service is provided according to their individual needs, abilities, and circumstances. We help these people, for example, with hygiene, cleaning, and meal serving. We also arrange grocery shopping, transport to medical appointments, and meal delivery.

The goal is to ensure, through the activities of Charity’s Care Service, support and care for basic daily needs so that the user can remain in their own home.

Mrs. Jitka lives alone in an apartment in a block of flats. At the beginning of the year, she fell at home, called for help, and it took a long time before her neighbors heard her and called the Emergency Medical Service. Mrs. Jitka spent about a month in hospital with a broken leg. When she returned home, her granddaughter moved in temporarily to take care of her. Mrs. Jitka was happy to have her granddaughter staying with her and got used to her help. However, the granddaughter needed to care for her own family too, so she moved out.

At first, Mrs. Jitka had a hard time adjusting to this situation and kept thinking about how she had fallen at home, which made her afraid to be there alone. For this reason, she contacted the Personal Assistance service of Charity of České Budějovice. After her injury, Mrs. Jitka had difficulty walking and could only move with the help of a walker. At first, she did not even want to get out of bed.

We started visiting Mrs. Jitka twice a day — in the morning and in the evening. It took some time for her to get used to the assistants. Although she was happy to see them and enjoyed talking with them, she refused activities, even though she could not manage personal hygiene or walks outside on her own. It took about two months for the assistants to gain her trust.

Thanks to this, Mrs. Jitka’s physical condition — and especially her mental well-being — gradually improved. Now the assistants help her with all her needs — they help her with hygiene in the bathroom, prepare her breakfast, and keep her company for conversations. Mrs. Jitka likes to look at family photos, read with the assistants, and go through magazines together, especially recipes. They practice walking around the apartment with a walker and even go for short walks outside. Mrs. Jitka has even started to enjoy her morning leg exercises, even though her leg still hurts sometimes.

Thanks to Personal Assistance, Mrs. Jitka is much calmer, feels good and safe in her own apartment again, and is happy to have company without relying only on her family’s help.

Mrs. Jana turned to our service after she decided to leave her partner with her daughter. During the COVID crisis, her partner lost his job and took out his frustration on her, both mentally and physically. Mrs. Jana came to our office in poor mental condition; she was living with her parents in a small apartment and did not know what to do. She needed help finding stable housing for herself and her daughter, securing her finances — since her partner refused to accept that she had left him — and, above all, stabilizing her mental state.

At the first meeting, we informed Mrs. Jana about the possibility of applying for a municipal apartment through the City Housing Administration, and about housing and child benefits available through the Labour Office. We accompanied her to an organization that helps people at risk of domestic violence and provides professional psychological support. This helped her cope with her difficult situation mentally.

At the next meeting, we helped Mrs. Jana fill in the forms for the Labour Office and apply for a municipal apartment. Mrs. Jana told us that she was attending counselling sessions that were greatly helping to improve her mental health. The next step in our cooperation was to submit an application for sole custody of her daughter and child support.

For two months, we stayed in contact with Mrs. Jana and provided her with social counselling. Although she was granted access to affordable housing through the City Housing Administration, she chose a standard rental apartment instead, which a friend helped her find. She was granted child and housing benefits by the Labour Office. Even though she is still on parental leave, she found a part-time job that she works while her daughter is in kindergarten.

In cooperation with the Child Protection Authority (OSPOD), she applied for sole custody of her daughter and the determination of child support payments. Mrs. Jana is very self-sufficient and only needed an initial push from our service to start building a new life with her daughter and to feel safe. For ongoing psychological support, she still attends individual sessions once a week.

We are very glad that we could help this family overcome such a difficult life situation.

Helena came to Domino following a stay in a psychiatric hospital. Despite treatment, her condition was still poor — she was very tearful and found it difficult to travel or be around many people. She had recently divorced and was taking care of her underage daughter on her own. It was mainly because of her daughter that she wanted to fight and do everything she could to return to her usual activities and have a harmonious relationship with her child.

Helena receives a second-degree disability pension, but this income was not enough to cover her household expenses. So together we started looking for work. She showed interest in working in our ceramics workshop, where she proved to be very skilled and talented. Gradually, she gained confidence and self-assurance; working with clay gave her a way to take her mind off negative thoughts. It also allowed her to test her endurance and focus, and to better understand what type of work she could manage when looking for a job.

Thanks to her experience and “training” in the social therapeutic workshop, Helena found a part-time job in another ceramics workshop, where she now earns a wage that, combined with her disability pension, is enough to cover her needs and those of her growing daughter. Her mental condition has stabilized within the limits of her chronic illness, and she has achieved the goal she set in her individual plan. She is able to cope with everyday life in society and can now leave Domino.

Mr. Miroslav has been a user of the Field Program for several years. He is a middle-aged man. The first contact with him was made when he had spent his first few days on the street — he had lost both his job and his housing and had no savings to find a new place to live. At that time, he was still reluctant to use services such as the K-Centre or the men’s halfway house. The Field Program worker therefore provided him with food, material, and hygiene support through the service and motivated him at every contact to use other services (the K-Centre, House of St. Paul), which he did begin to use during the first three months.

Mr. Miroslav tried to earn some money through various temporary jobs and refused to apply for material need benefits. However, he was hospitalized several times for longer periods and each time returned to the street — usually sleeping under a bridge — and again refused to use the services offered.

After some time, the Field Program worker managed to actively help Mr. Miroslav register with the Labour Office and submit an application for material need benefits. Filing the application was all the more complicated because Mr. Miroslav did not have permanent residence in South Bohemia.

Eventually, he was motivated enough to find a job that also offered accommodation. Unfortunately, during his probationary period, the employer could not provide him with accommodation because the lodging facility was full. Mr. Miroslav therefore commuted 30 km to physically demanding work while continuing to sleep under a bridge. Despite this, he managed to stay in the job throughout the probationary period and now has accommodation at his employer’s lodging facility.

He remains in contact with the Field Program worker, with whom he regularly addresses his social situation. He is motivated to keep his job and maintain his current stable situation.

This service is intended for men without shelter and for men in difficult life situations connected with the loss of a home or housing. We offer clients over the age of 18 the possibility of temporary accommodation and support. By creating a safe environment, providing social counselling, and offering activation activities, we help them gain the skills needed to return to everyday life.

This service is intended for men and women over the age of 18 who are without shelter. We do not judge what a client “deserves” — we offer help to those who need it. Clients can use the centre’s facilities for personal hygiene, a small kitchen, and receive free hot soup (or other available food assistance). They can also seek help from a social worker when dealing with their difficult life situation. This service is provided free of charge.

Through this service, we offer men without a home, aged 18 and over, the possibility to spend the night in a warm, clean, and dignified environment. Clients can also use bathroom facilities and a small kitchen. As part of the service, we provide basic information about other social services (the Low-Threshold Day Centre, Halfway House) that could help clients if they are interested in improving their difficult situation.

The purpose of the Treatment Room project is to provide new Halfway House clients at the House of St. Paul with an initial health check and to offer basic medical care and dressing changes for people living on the street, thus reducing the impact of homelessness on their health.