End-user focus and individualized approach are the hallmarks of all of Terra’s programs and are what encourage Terra’s team to continue their education and capacity building to respond to their needs. Through its many years of activity, the Terra Association achieves its area of activity through 3 basic strategic goals:
Promotion and protection of mental health in the community with focus on Rijeka
Good mental health is an integral part of the general health and wellbeing of the population and contributes to the quality of functioning of individuals, families and communities. Recent EU documents refer to mental health as a precondition for the social and economic development of society. Accordingly, it is the role of decision-makers and the responsibility of the various assisting professions to act on the social determinants that affect the mental health of citizens.
Since its inception, Terra has been implementing projects aimed at protecting and promoting the mental health of all groups of society with free support from experts trained in individual and family counseling.
Since 2004, the Gea Counseling Center has been operating within the association. At the Counseling Center, psychoeducation, counseling and psychotherapy work on the principles of systemic therapy empower individuals and families facing the challenge of dealing with psychological difficulties and provide context for developing a relationship of trust through accessibility and individuality in access. Such an approach contributes to the preservation and promotion of mental health and contributes to the prevention of development of chronic mental illness.
Reduction of harms related to drug consumption and risky sexual behaviors
Drug abuse and the consequent disease of addiction is one of the most negative social phenomena that has long-term adverse health and social effects on the individual, family and society as a whole. Drug addicts are vulnerable to various forms of stigma and social exclusion. Therefore, activities are needed to achieve equal status for these persons in all spheres of social life. Endangering human rights favors the spread of HIV/AIDS and other blood and sexually transmitted diseases, which poses a public health risk to people who do not consume drugs. These are affected by poverty, high unemployment, delinquency, criminality and the lack of preventive health and other education. Therefore, harm reduction programs, known worldwide as Harm reduction, are essential.
It is evident from world and domestic experience that harm reduction programs are useful and effective when applied continuously and appropriately. Focusing measures on populations that are prone to risky behaviors produces the best results because it concentrates where it is most needed, and the measures taken are tailored to the specific needs and capabilities of members of those populations. Since 2001, Terra has implemented a program to reduce the health and social consequences of drug use, intended for intravenous addicts and other at-risk groups.
Increasing the scope of social support for marginalized community groups
Terra has been working with excluded and marginalized groups since its inception. In order to achieve its goals, Terra is constantly improving projects based on monitoring the daily life problems and needs of marginalized groups and the social needs and economic constraints of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County area. Under-represented groups are constantly exposed when it comes to achieving their rights and are at risk of social and professional marginalization. They need support, encouragement and assistance to overcome the difficulties of socialization and improve the quality of life and inclusion in society as a responsible and equal citizens.
Through its projects, Terra seeks to support all marginalized groups by providing information, education and counseling to encourage social inclusion.
Ongoing projects:
Project name | Project summary | Implementation period | Donors |
MentoRI – development and introduction of an innovative social mentoring service for active social inclusion and increasing the employability of vulnerable groups | The project will enable the development of innovative social services in the community, strengthening the role of the local community in the processes of planning services at the local level, encouraging cooperation in service delivery, while combating poverty and supporting social inclusion of target groups. Project activities ensure that people at risk of social exclusion are given the necessary opportunities and resources to participate fully in economic, social and cultural life. | February 2021 – February 2023 | The project is co-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund. |
Housing community for former inmates Terra | The project is being implemented by Association Terra and Oaza Association with the aim of offering former prisoners an adequate and structured program that will assist them in housing, employment, learning to take responsibility, independence, and ultimately social integration. The project provides a transitional phase between life in prison and the independent life of former prisoners. | July 2019 – July 2021 | The project is co-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund. |
Be Involved, Be Active – A project to support marginalized groups through informing, education and counseling | The project is being implemented by Terra and Oaza with the purpose of empowering members of marginalized groups through information, education and counseling to promote social inclusion and successful integration into the labor market in the County of Primorje-Gorski kotar. | September 2018 – August 2020 | The project is co-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund. |
Prevention of HIV / AIDS among at-risk groups | The program responds to the risk of spreading HIV infection among populations with risky behavior, and thus to the risk of spreading to the general population. The overall objective of the program is to reduce the prevalence of HIV / STD infections in populations with high-risk behavior in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and Istria, and to reduce risk behaviors among at-risk groups. | July 2018 – June 2019 | Ministry if health |
Harm reduction | The program seeks to prevent and mitigate the health consequences of the harmful effects of drugs on the body, the spread of hepatitis and other blood-borne diseases, and the social consequences: family breakdown, school leaving, unemployment and social degradation.
The overall objective of the project is to reduce the health and social consequences of drug use and to increase awareness of the addict’s responsibility for his or her own health. |
July 2018.-June 2019. | Ministry of health |
Addicts Rehabilitation and Resocialization Program | The program enables successful socialization and rehabilitation of treated addicts through individual, group and family counseling. Promotes the re-socialization and inclusion of treated addicts in the labor market through training, volunteering and employment assistance. | 1.9.2018.-31.08.2019. | Office for NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. |
Be informed, Be active | The project strengthens the positive self-image of young people in student dormitories who, together with medical students, actively and creatively promote healthy lifestyles to prevent addiction in the wider youth community. | September 2018.- August 2019. | Ministry of health |
Counseling for families with children and young people with psychological disabilities | The Counseling program ensures the availability of expensive, therefore inaccessible, psychotherapy treatment services for families, children and young people with mental disabilities in order to improve mental health and prevent chronicity. | December 2018.-December 2019. | Ministry of health |
Strengthening the personal capacities of prisoners for successful reintegration into society | The program is aimed at enhancing the personal capacities of prisoners for successful reintegration into society through individual and group counseling and education and by providing support for release by providing accommodation and other essential life necessities. | January 2019.-January 2020. | Ministarstvo pravosuđa |
Harm Reduction – Day Care for addicts and other at-risk groups | The harm reduction project aims to reduce the health and social consequences of drug use. | January 2019.-December 2019. | City of Rijeka |
Prevention of addiction development in at-risk youth groups | The project targets a high-risk target group for the development of addictive syndrome and other behavioral disorders, and fosters interest in schooling, raising self-esteem through various activities. | January 2019.-December 2019. | City of Rijeka |
Increasing social inclusion of users of the social housing project of the city of Rijeka | The project is being implemented at the Social Housing Project of the City of Rijeka with the aim of improving the health, social and psychological status and status of users of the Social Housing Project. | January 2019.-December 2019. | City of Rijeka |