Roma Policy Lab

Housing, infrastructure, environment

The power of Civil Society Organizations is their mission

The strength and meaning of Civil Society Organizations’ /CSOs/ existence derives from people’s trust in their mission and it is important, especially in times of social and political crisis, that Non-Governmental Organizations /NGOs/ look critically at themselves and continue to uphold their core values and long-term goals.

NEW REPORT: The definition of energy poverty in Bulgaria – content and applications with an emphasis on highly vulnerable and marginalized groups

Bulgaria is in the final stages of adopting an official definition of energy poverty, but there is a risk that its use for the purpose of energy renovation of buildings will be done in a way that will not prioritize the energy poor and may even lead to an increase in energy inequality.

Effects of the introduction of a definition of energy poverty and related social protection mechanisms on representatives of vulnerable groups with an emphasis on the Roma

What needs to be done to reduce energy poverty? What should a good (well-functioning) definition of energy poverty include in order to have a maximally beneficial societal effect? Does what we know about the definition to be adopted meet the criteria for a well-functioning definition of energy poverty? Are there groups of vulnerable energy users who may remain outside the scope of the definition of energy poverty and, accordingly, of energy poverty countermeasures?

Publication: Roma in Bulgaria

Anyone who has tried to research, write or think about the situation of the Roma in Bulgaria has come across an increasing amount of information, which is often fragmented and contradictory. How many and...

New Open-access Book: Precarious Housing in Europe – A Critical Guide

The textbook Precarious Housing in Europe – A critical guide on cross-cutting issues around precarious housing in the Old Continent is now printed and available online to provide a profound and solid synthesis and analysis of the critical elements of housing precariousness. Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 – “Informal settlements” and “Homelessness” – were drafted by the research team of the Open Society Institute – Sofia and present the scope, causes and dynamics of homelessness and illegally built housing and settlements such as migrant camps, neighbourhoods with a high concentration of poverty and often ethnically segregated and marginalized urban areas.

Project: “One approach – many solutions. Model for integrated development (MID) in Samokov”

The project “One approach – many solutions. Model for Integrated Development (MID) in Samokov” aims to provide opportunities to support the successful realization and social adaptation of the residents of the Roma neighborhood in the town. It envisages the implementation of a model for integrated development (MID) of the individual and the community, which is based on the life cycle of the person and the tasks he must solve at every stage of life: from early childhood to adulthood, developed by the Health and Social Development” Foundation (HESED).

Project: Roma Inclusion Hub “Complex integration services for Roma inclusion in the Municipalities Maglizh and Nikolaevo”

The project proposal envisages the creation of two new hubs to offer complex integrated health and social measures in support of Roma inclusion in the municipalities of Maglizh and Nikolaevo. The scope of the project activities will include children over 7 years of age, young people (12-29 years old) and adult representatives of the Roma minority.

Project: “Integrated Complex of Services for Roma Inclusion and Authorization in Lom Municipality”

The overall goal of the project is to improve Roma access to healthcare and the education system, to improve contacts between Roma communities and local self-government, as well as Roma parenting skills. An “Integrated Service Complex” will be built by renovating and equipping the building of a former bath house, which houses the “Roma-Lom” Foundation, providing integrated services and expanding the capacity of institutions in the municipality.

Project: “Establishing a one-stop shop center for integrated social and health services in the neighborhood of Stolipinovo”

The project aims at implementing a comprehensive program for socio-economic inclusion of vulnerable ethnic groups in Plovdiv’s neighborhood of Stolipinovo by providing improved access to administrative, social, educational and health services through the establishment of a one-stop shop center.