TOC, within the field work in the community project, will organize training for the training of field associates, i.e. outreach associates, and in order to raise the professional competences of professional workers, associates and professional associates in the social protection system from the municipality of Zaječar.

During the month of March, TOC will organize two professional trainings in Zaječar, accredited by the Republic Institute for Social Protection by the DUGA Association, whose licensed trainers will lead these trainings, which carry 15 passive points each.

Basic training for outreach workers in the period from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., lasts one day and takes place on March 15, 2023.

Advanced training for outreach workers in the period from 10:00 to 16:00, lasts two days and takes place on March 16 and 17, 2023.

Applications are open until midnight on March 8, 2023.

Both trainings are linked and you can apply for both by filling out the short single application form at the link.

The trainings are intended for people over 18 years old, i.e. adult citizens, interested in providing support to vulnerable population groups from the city of Zaječar and surrounding villages through field work.

How can a Field Associate help?

The role of the field associate is to empower, to try to change the perspective of looking at problems and to look for a solution together with the user. The main goal is to provide social, economic, health and psychological assistance through:
psychological support,
social intervention,
referral to other service providers,
tracking with other service providers

The “Field Associate” service is a preventive socio-health service that in the cities where it has already been piloted, such as Šabac, Kruševac and Vrnjačka banja, has successfully connected different sectors in the local community and improved intersectoral cooperation.

What is “Outreach”?

“Work on the street”; “Street social work”, “Street corner work”, “Mobile team”, “Field work”, are some of the descriptions we use for this method of work. However, outreach is not one single service, but a group of services that includes different approaches – from establishing contacts to practical training and assistance. What makes it special is that it represents a working method based within the target group and its environment.

The very word “outreach” means to reach, to reach someone outside, outside something, usually outside the institutional framework. In our country, the foreign term “outreach” has taken root in order to distinguish it from other forms of work that can also be “work in the field”, but also due to the fact that this term has been adopted all over the world.

According to its basic purpose as a strategy, work in the field, aims to: in one community:

Prevents the emergence or deepening of social and health problems,
Connect users with institutions,
Empower users to solve their problems and reduce risks.

The project “Field work in the community” is financed by the European Union through the EU PRO Plus program. Its content is the sole responsibility of TOC and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.