On Friday, 15 May, a meeting devoted to combating violence at home and at school was held in the conference room of the District Office in Bolesławiec. It was attended by educators, local government officials, police officers and representatives of organisations working to support families.
One of the aims of the meeting was to discuss an anti-violence programme developed at the School Complex of Commerce and Services in Bolesławiec. The tragic death of a junior-high-school student in Gdańsk prompted its creation. The programme was presented by Teresa Rudzińska, a teacher at ZSHiU. “Our activities have been focused on prevention,” Rudzińska emphasised during Friday’s meeting. The teacher conducts workshops on addictions and psychoeducational classes for young people. She also meets regularly with students’ parents.
Barbara Kostyra, head of the Social Affairs and Health Department of the District Office, raised the issue of establishing a specialist support centre for victims of violence. “The project has already been prepared. We held talks at the regional and national levels,” the official said. “We have the voivode’s assurance that once the earmarked reserve from the state budget is released, a centre of this kind will be established in Bolesławiec first,” she added. The planned location of the facility is 7 Sobieskiego Street.
Jadwiga Bobek, president of the Bolesławiec branch of the Society of Friends of Children, addressed the issue of violence against young people. Those gathered in the conference room discussed how to help young victims of violence in a crisis situation—especially when all the offices are already closed.
“I really liked the idea of creating a family emergency service for older children,” Jadwiga Bobek said after the meeting. The creation of a crisis intervention centre is also being considered. “The idea came about recently,” Marzanna Słotwińska, head of the Non-Public Psychological and Educational Counselling Centre, emphasised in a conversation with journalists. “We will do everything we can to open crisis intervention rooms in Bolesławiec.”
(ii report)