Life chances, health and social care

Increasing life chances for children living in poverty- focus on health

Fourth Policy Workshop: Helsinki 23-24th April 2009

On 23 and 24 April 2009, delegates from the five partner cities and representatives from over a dozen regions across Europe came together to discuss effective practical ways to improve life chances for children and break cycles of deprivation with a focus on health and social care. The event aimed to identify effective strategies and projects from partner cities which improve children’s health and lessen the social problems affecting them.

This practical workshop featured presentations of successful projects:

• Starting Together – Amsterdam
• Parental Steps – Solna
• Working for Wellness – London
• Utsikten – Uppsala
• Music Therapy for Early Interaction in High Risk Families - Helsinki
• From Consumed to Consumers – Milan
• Health School by Bluepoint – Budapest

Delegates at the Helsinki event took part in a visit to Vesala Comprehensive School, a secondary school with a high concentration of pupils with learning, social and behavioural difficulties (50 out of 365) and students of 23 different nationalities (27% of the student population are immigrants).

Visitors were welcomed by the School Principal Juha Juvonen and special education teacher Niina Halonen-Malliarakis who, with two pupils, led a tour of the school premises. The visitors had a chance to see the facilities dedicated to health and social care support, some classrooms and workshops, and the greenhouse.