Jelgava looks towards opening of new social care centre

It will be inaugurated once the state of emergency in Latvia has been lifted

Last year, after the State Audit Office of Latvia, discovered that many of the country’s municipalities had been borrowing recklessly, it suddenly became harder for local administrations to receive funding for their new initiatives. That led to many cities abandoning their deinstitutionalization and social projects in favour of maintaining more balanced budgets. Jelgava, however, persisted and is now ready to show results.

Working to improve living conditions for all

Despite the difficulties, local authorities in Jelgava did not abandon their own deinstitutionalization project and it now stands ready to greet its first visitors – once the COVID-19-related state of emergency in the country has been lifted.

Once the venue has been opened and inaugurated it will be able to house 16 persons with mental disabilities who will enjoy a better and freer life within its confines. Located in the former Kalnciems brick factory, the new social care centre will allow many locals who had been struggling to be once again integrated into society.

The former brick factory has been redesigned from the ground up in order for the new social care centre to offer the best services possible. In the future, residents will be able to live in group apartments that would allow for their resocialization, they will be taught various skills to allow them to reintegrate into the job market and will also learn other vocational skills at a special day centre located on the building’s 2^nd floor where an art and ceramics workshop is also located.

The cost of the project comes in at a total of 1.7 million euros, 741 thousand of which are provided under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with the rest being provided mainly by the municipality’s own budget, save for a 35,000 euro state grant.