The “Home” Project: A Strategic Investment and Lasting Impact on the YANA Foundation’s Mission to Keep Families Together

The success of a social project is not measured solely in numbers, but in the ability to transform vulnerability into long-term stability. Through the “Home: Actions and Services to Prevent Separation and Strengthen the Family of Origin” project, the YANA Foundation has taken on the responsibility of continuing to provide integrated support to vulnerable children and their families in Bacău County. One success of this initiative was the expansion of our operational capacity through the opening of a new day center, Casa Antonia, in a Roma community in the village of Berzunți, which is affected by an alarming rate of school dropouts. The center provides daily assistance and support to Roma children enrolled in the program. Today, we are able to confirm that our strategic vision is bearing fruit and the implementation process is proceeding rigorously.

The effectiveness of our intervention is demonstrated by the achievement of performance indicators in all four of the foundation’s day centers. At Casa YANA, Casa Heidi, Casa Aurora, and Casa Antonia, over 130 children currently benefit from a comprehensive package of services, which includes not only essential educational support to combat school dropout, but also specialized psychological assistance, designed to provide children with the emotional balance needed to overcome the barriers created by their disadvantaged environment. This holistic approach ensures that the resources invested bring about real change in the life trajectories of these children and young people, giving them the chance at a dignified future.

The impact generated so far goes beyond immediate assistance, aiming to strengthen the family unit as a whole. Through the School for Parents and Femme/Homme Tisch programs, as well as psychological and social counseling for parents, we have succeeded in improving families’ parenting skills to provide a safer and healthier environment for the children in our day centers. The synergy between social services and direct financial support—contingent upon participation in project activities—has created a safety net that has prevented, in critical cases, the separation of children from their parents, thereby preserving the integrity of the families and communities where we operate.

The sustainability of these results is guaranteed by rigorous management, which combines the efficient coordination of administrative and financial flows with close and fruitful collaboration with the project’s three partners. This institutional synergy contributes to the success of each implementation phase.

The YANA Foundation remains a pillar of stability in Bacău County, demonstrating that a professional management model, applied with empathy, can break the intergenerational cycle of exclusion. Achievements to date confirm that the implementation of this project has a visible social impact, bringing about profound changes in the lives of vulnerable families and the future of children in Bacău County, contributing, day by day, to building a more equitable society.

The project “Home”: Actions and Services to Prevent Separation and Strengthen the Family of Origin, project code 330329, implemented in partnership by the YANA Foundation, the St. John of Calabria Foundation, the Favor Association, and the Social Assistance Department of the Municipality of Bacău, is co-financed by the European Union through the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), through the Social Inclusion and Dignity Program 2021–2027, Operation: Action 5.4 ESF+ Community Services for Children and Families to Prevent Separation. The project will run for 36 months, from March 2025 to February 2028, and is aimed at supporting a minimum of 266 children in Bacău County.