Emergency placement and protection
Boys referred by outreach workers, the police, social welfare, parishes or community members can be received quickly. The first priority is immediate safety, a health check and a calm place to sleep.
What we do
From the first night of safety to life back home
Our work follows one path, in stages: rescue a boy from immediate danger, restore his health, confidence and schooling, and prepare him and his family for reunification wherever that is safe. Each programme below is part of that same journey.
The first days matter
When a boy arrives, we do not begin by asking him to tell us everything that has happened. We begin with ordinary things: a meal, a bath, clean clothes, a safe place to sleep and a predictable daily routine. As he begins to feel safe and accepted, trust develops and we can gradually understand what he needs and how best to help him.
Why Do Children Stay on the Street?
Leaving the street is not always a simple decision. This short film explores what can keep children there and why patient outreach, trust and understanding matter.
Daily care and nutrition
Three meals a day, clean water, bedding, clothing, hygiene and access to medical care. Regular routine matters as much as the food itself: it is often the first stability a boy has known in months.
Education
Assessment of each boy's level, catch-up classes for those out of school for years, then placement into primary or secondary school, plus literacy and practical skills training.
Family tracing is more than finding an address
Finding a boy’s family is only the beginning. Meeting his relatives helps us understand where he comes from, what happened before he came to us, and what relationships and difficulties exist at home. This gives us a much clearer picture of whether returning home is possible, what needs to change, and how both the boy and his family can be prepared for his return.
Psychosocial rehabilitation
Individual and group counselling, structured play, sport, art and spiritual accompaniment. Boys who have used substances or survived violence are supported towards recovery at their own pace.
Reintegration
Where an assessment shows it is safe, we mediate between the boy and his family, prepare the household, and accompany him home. Reunification is planned, never rushed.
Preparation for reunification
Contact with the family is rebuilt through repeated visits, initially supervised, and later a short holiday at home that the boy, his relatives and our team evaluate together before a final decision. There may be an occasional phone call afterwards, and in a small number of exceptional cases we continue educational support, but once a reunification succeeds the family carries on independently.
Boarding school and college support
For selected older boys, continued support in boarding school, secondary school or college gives them the chance to finish their studies and stand on their own.
Why reintegration takes time
Rescue is the first step. The goal is a safe and lasting return to family whenever possible.
Watch the story
When returning home is not possible
Not every boy can safely return to his family. In those cases, a young person may remain with us until he is ready to begin an independent adult life. Depending on his situation, we may help him continue his education, learn a trade, obtain a driving licence or look for work. When the time comes to leave Home of Hope, limited practical support can also help him through the first stage of living independently.
How a placement usually works
A boy is never simply passed through
- 1. Referral and reception. Outreach, police, social welfare or the community brings a boy to the Home; he is received, registered and given medical attention.
- 2. Settling and assessment. Care staff and a social worker build trust, learn his history and assess schooling, health and protection needs.
- 3. Care, school and counselling. He joins the daily life of the Home: meals, classes, sport, counselling and chores shared with the other boys.
- 4. Tracing and preparation. In parallel, family tracing begins, and both the boy and his relatives are prepared for a possible return.
- 5. Reunification. After visits, a supervised stay and a shared evaluation, he goes home for good with a plan for school — and his family takes life forward from there.